Always and Forever His Part Two: Return of the Lost Brother
by thingsareweird
Summary: All is peaceful after the tiring events of the first story. King Simba and Queen Nala are happily ruling together. But there is a new threat to their happiness. A threat that was created even before they were born. Someone returns from the past...someone seeking revenge. What happens next? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys as I promised, I'm back with another story for Always and Forever His. As mentioned before, this isn't a sequel but a bunch of one shots put together about what happens to everyone after Always and Forever His. If there's any certain scenes or characters you especially want, just tell me in a review and I'll try my best to work it in to the story.**

 **Anyways, here's the first chapter and I hope you enjoy.**

The moon had just slipped away from the sky as King Simba of the Pridelands opened his eyes. Shifting his body, he turned to see his mate sleeping with their newborn cubs cradled in her paws protectively. All three of them were sound asleep. Looking outside, he realized the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet but he was too excited to sleep.

It was the day he was presenting his sons to the Pridelands.

Careful not to wake Nala who was resting against him, he rested his head in front of her paws so he could be closer to his sons.

"Today's your big day." Simba whispered, nuzzling both of them. A smile tugged at his face when Kopa batted Simba's nose in his sleep while Kion just rolled over and buried his face against Nala's chest.

"Simba…" Nala slowly stirred and opened her eyes sleepily looking at his mate. "I swear if you wake them up on more time, I'm not putting them back to sleep!" Despite her sleepiness, she smiled at her mate. He just couldn't seem to pry his eyes off their sons. Simba had woken them up from nearly every single nap she had set them down to.

Simba grinned and licked his mate's cheek. "It's time we get up anyways. Today's their presentation." Nala nodded and gently placed her sons at her side so they wouldn't wake up.

"I'm going to the Waterhole and then I have to go find Zazu." Simba said. "Are you hungry? Shani saved some meat for you from last night."

"No, I'm fine." Nala said. Simba nodded and after giving her a nuzzle, he walked out of their den.

Nala turned to Kion and Kopa and gave them a nuzzle, wanting to slowly wake them up. Kopa just mewed and rolled over but Kion slowly opened his sapphire blue eyes squeaking at Nala.

"And how's my little Kion today?" Nala purred, licking the top of his head. Nala picked both of them up, and placed them in her paws so she could bathe them. Kion mewed and batted his paws at Nala but Kopa just continued to snore.

"Kopa," Nala nudged him. "Come on, it's your big day!" He slowly rolled over and opened his eyes whining at Nala softly but he stopped when Nala nuzzled the top of his head.

Nala continued talking to them softly as she bathed them. Just as she finished, she looked up to see her mother in law, Sarabi walking in.

"How're you feeling dear?" Sarabi asked, as she and Nala pressed heads together in greeting.  
"I'm fine." Nala smiled at her. She had come to see Sarabi as a second mother along with Kudeka.

"And how our two Princes today?" Sarabi bent down and nuzzled both her grandsons smiling at them lovingly. "They remind me so much of Simba."

"Sarabi, this presentation the Pridelanders have for their heirs…it is safe right?" Nala asked. They didn't have the same ritual back at the River Pride. She trusted Rafiki but she still felt worried at the thought of him holding her cubs at the very edge of Priderock. She had talked to Simba about it and he had reassured her that everything would be fine but she was still worried. If anything were to happen to her cubs…

"It'll be fine. Don't worry." Sarabi chuckled. "I was a bit worried as well when we first had to present Simba but it was fine. Rafiki doesn't do anything wrong."

Nala nodded as Sarabi gave her a nuzzle. "I'll leave you alone now. But don't worry, everything will be fine!" She nuzzled the cubs once more before exiting the den. She stayed in the den, dozing off here and there for about half an hour or so before Simba returned.

"Everything going fine?" Nala asked as Simba gave her a nuzzle.

"Yeah, everything perfect. Zazu said that all the animals know that the presentation is today and Rafiki will be here at sunrise." Simba said. He grinned when he saw that both Kopa and Kion were awake.

"And how are my boys today?" Simba asked. He bent down so he was eye level with both of them. He smiled when Kopa batted his nose with his paws while Kion reached out and tapped his muzzle. Simba gently let Kion play with his paw for a while Kopa seemed content with lying in his mother's paws.

"Simba!" Akila came into the den. "I forgot to tell you that I didn't do my part of the patrol yesterday. Can you tell Zazu to get that checked over?"

"Seriously?" Simba asked. "You tell me now?"

Akila grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that." He padded over to his nephews. "How are my favorite nephews today?" He chuckled as Kopa mewed and wrapped his paw around his nose. Grinning, Akila looked up at Simba.  
"I swear he likes his uncle better than you!" Akila laughed and Nala joined him.

Simba rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Now come and help me find Zazu." Akila nodded and gave the twins another nuzzle before walking out of the den with Simba.

Shaking her head at Simba and Akila, Nala picked Kion and Kopa up carefully and took them into the big den that most of the Pride used. Tama walked up to them and gave Kion and Kopa a nuzzle before she bumped heads with Nala.

"Nervous?" Tama asked as Nala set Kion and Kopa down between her legs.

"I am." Nala admitted. "I mean we never had this back at the River Pride and neither have I ever seen one before."

"Don't be Nala." Tama said. "Enjoy the day; you're presenting your sons to the kingdom!" Nala nodded with a smile as Kula approached them.

"Did any of the River Pride arrive yet?" Kula asked. She pressed her head against Nala's in greeting before bending down and licking the top of Kion and Kopa' head.

"Nala," Sarabi walked towards them. "The presentation is starting in about half an hour or so. How about you take Kopa and Kion outside?"

"Of course." Nala said. She picked Kion up and Sarabi took Kopa. By now all of the Pride was awake and some of them even went down the side of Priderock so they would have a good view of the presentation. Nala settled down at the front of the cave with Kion and Kopa tucked in her paws. The twins rolled around in her paws excitingly sniffing at the air. This was the first time that Nala had taken them out of the den. By now, most of the animals had gathered by Priderock and all of the area was buzzing with noise and excitement.

"Exciting isn't it?" Nala smiled licking the tops of their heads. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

After a few minutes, she heard footsteps approaching her and she looked up to see some of the River Pride arriving at Priderock with Simba and her parents at the head.

"You came." Nala smiled as her parents nuzzled her lovingly.

"Or course we did." Sarafina licked the back of her ears. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

"And how are my grandsons today?" Runju smiled, nuzzling Kion and Kopa. They squeaked and mewed at him and Runju let them play with his paw for a minute.

"Nala," Simba came to her side and gave her a nuzzle. "Rafiki is on his way." Nala studied his face intently. She could tell Simba was nervous.

"Simba." Mufasa walked up to him. "Calm down! Don't worry; this should be a happy day for you."

"I am happy Dad." Simba said. "I'm just a little worried. I mean, I am presenting my sons!"

"Simba," Runju smiled at him. "Everything will go fine. You can't enjoy it if you keep worrying!"

"See Nala, I told you he'd freak out with every single little thing with the cubs!" Akila walked out of the den with Malaika behind him. She nuzzled her aunt and uncle before settling down next to Nala and gently playing with Kion and Kopa. Shani and Shinda walked out with Kudeka and they waited with them for the arrival of Rafiki.

Nala nuzzled Shinda as she settled down, and she let her take Kopa into her paws. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Shinda gave her a smile. "After all, my godson is being presented today, isn't he?" She nuzzled Kopa with her nose and smiled when he licked her nose with his tiny tongue.

Nala turned and handed Shani Kion and she smiled at her godson. It had been a full blown argument as to who was going to be the godparents for their cubs. Both Nala's parents and Simba's parents had wanted it along with Kudeka and Hariku but Nala knew they had cubs of their own to tend to. Tama, Shari and Kula had been eager along with their mates as well but they could be expecting cubs soon as well so Nala had decided against it. Then it had come down to Shani and Tojo, Malaika and Akila or Alex and Shinda.

Nala had a hard time picking until Simba had made the point saying that since Akila was his second in command he wouldn't be at Priderock all the time and none of them wanted to make the cubs miss time out on them so Malaika and Akila were out as well.

When it had come down to Shinda and Shani Nala had considered it carefully. She knew that Shinda had wanted it badly so she and Shani had both agreed that Shinda and Alex could be the godparents.

Nala remembered how upset Shinda had been a few weeks ago when she discovered something that would change her life.

 _(Flashback)_

 _Nala waited a little ways off from Rafiki's tree while Shinda slowly walked towards her. Just from Shinda's face, she could tell something was wrong._

" _Shinda," Nala asked. "What happened?"_

 _Shinda sighed deeply. "He said I'm infertile." Nala looked at her cousin with sorrow in her heart. She knew that Shinda and Alex had been trying for cubs for quite a while now. When they had no luck, Shinda had talked to Nala about it and it was her that had suggested going to Rafiki's tree._

" _Shinda…I'm so sorry…" Nala said. She nuzzled her cousin gently._

 _Shinda closed her eyes. "Alex is going to be so disappointed. He wanted a cub so badly and I can't give it to him."_

" _He's not going to think any less of you." Nala said firmly. "You know that. Just tell him what Rafiki said. He'll understand."_

" _I know." Shinda nodded. "It's…it's just that…I really wanted a cub too."_

 _Nala smiled sadly and they pressed their heads together._

" _Then we can just share mine." Nala said softly. She was halfway through her pregnancy._

" _Then I guess Alex and I are the godparents?" A small smile came too Shinda's muzzle and Nala nodded._

" _Or course." Nala said. "Shani will understand."_

 _(End of Flashback)_

But now as Nala watched her cousin gently tending to her son, she knew that Shinda and Alex were happy. They considered Kopa and Kion their sons just like Tojo and Shani did and Nala knew that Akila and Malaika did as well. Shani had been delighted when Nala had twins. It meant that she and Tojo could also be the godparents to one of her cubs.

Suddenly, the noise from the animals died down and Simba strained his neck to see what was going on.

"Rafiki's here." Simba said his smile growing wider. Shani and Shinda handed Kion and Kopa back to Nala, who stood up with them dangling from her mouth and everyone moved aside to give Simba and Nala some space with Rafiki.

Rafiki reached the top of Priderock and walked towards Simba and Nala and bowed to them. Simba pulled Rafiki towards him and gave him a friendly hug. Rafiki then turned towards Nala and gave her a wise smile.

"Da young Queen has blessed the lands with two healthy heirs." Rafiki said. Nala after getting a nod from Simba, gently handed Kion and Kopa to Rafiki who cradled them in his paws. Kopa and Kion both called out for their mother and Nala gave both of them a nuzzle quickly, assuring them that she was there.

Rafiki cracked open one of his fruits and rubbed the juice over their forehead. While Kion just stayed still, Kopa reached up and touched his forehead and then put his paw in his mouth, making an unhappy face from the taste. Simba and Nala chuckled at their son.

Reaching down, Rafiki scooped some sand up and sprinkled it on their forehead and both twins sneezed. Rafiki looked at Simba who nodded, and then he turned and began making his way to the ledge with Simba and Nala in tow.

There was an anticipating silence from below before Rafiki thrust Kopa and Kion into the air so all the animals could see. Below, the animals broke out into a chaos of cheers with elephants stamping there feet and the monkeys shrieked. Even the hippos had ventured out all the way from the swamps to witness the presentation of their new heirs.

Behind Rafiki, Simba watched his sons being presented with pride glowing on his face. This was the dawning of a new era. His era in which he would rule with Nala at his side and their sons with them. Simba vowed that nothing would ever happen to Kopa or Kion. Nothing. He would give his life to protect them. Nothing would ever take these two precious gifts away from them.

Nala smiled at the pride on Simba's face and she saw her happiness being reflected in her eyes. Just a little over a year ago, she never would have even thought to think about him or any of the Pridelander pride but now here she was, presenting her cubs to the Pridelands.

More importantly, hers and Simba's cubs.

Rafiki lowered the twins back down and turned to Simba and Nala as the sounds from the animals began to die out. Nala stepped forward and nuzzled her sons, smiling at the excitement on their faces from their presentation. She stepped back and Simba came in closer and rubbed his head against them, whispering a couple words that Nala couldn't make out.

Rafiki handed the twins back to Nala who took them back into the den. Rafiki chatted for a few minutes with Simba and a few other members of the Pride he took his leave.

 **I decided to stop here just because I was tired of writing. Anyways, sorry (again) for the long delays. I actually really want to turn this into a full sequel. I just don't have any good ideas yet. Any suggestions? Reminder that if there's anything you want to in this story, just tell me in a review or PM me. Also, for those of you who read my other story, "It Never Really Ends", I had a HUGE chapter all typed up and ready since the last time I updated was last September but just as I logged onto my computer to add the finishing touches my USB broke. So unfornately, I'll have to rewrite the entire chapter. Sorry about that. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two and please review. Reminder that I don't own the Lion King, Disney does. So I decided to turn this into a sequel because I got an idea for one. I don't want to give up the ideas I had for those one shot chapters so I'm going to combine them in with this story. So the chapters are probably going to have some irrelevant family fluff and drama I guess but not too much. We'll see how things go from here.**

 **Thanks to my reviewers for reviewing the first chapter:**

 **snowflakexx: Yes it is sad that Shinda and Alex are unable to have a cub but they are happy that they can be the godparents of Kopa and Kion. They consider them cubs of their own so it's all good for them. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **TMNTMentalistTLK lover: Yes, Kopa and Kion are pretty cute. I was hoping to present them that way. Thanks for the review.**

 **balto90: Thanks for that idea. I'll keep it in mind if I ever get stuck. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Amber: Thanks for being such a loyal reviewer and reader. I really do appreciate it.**

 **S-techno: Thank you and I'm glad you pictured it that way. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Anyways, here's chapter one and I hope you enjoy.**

Simba had never thought cubs could bring so much happiness into his life. He couldn't stand to be away from Nala or the twins for long. He was always rushing back to Priderock after his duties so he could be with them.

One day when Kion and Kopa were about six months old, Simba was patrolling the border by the Outlands himself. Zazu had spotted rouge there yesterday and he wanted to check it out himself. Akila and Moraan had volunteered to come but Simba had sent them back to Priderock insisting that he would be fine by himself. Besides, he wanted Moraan to be with Tama since she had given birth to two healthy male cubs a few weeks ago. They had named the older one Tanabi and the younger one Ari.

Suddenly, Simba saw movement from some bushes a little ways off from the border and he hurried to it. To his surprise, he saw a male lion trying to limp away. With a growl, Simba stepped in front of him so he could get a good look at him. He knew he shouldn't be confronting a rogue by himself since there could be more around but he couldn't leave now.

"Who are you rogue?" Simba growled.

"What is it to you?" The lion snapped back. Simba took a good look at him. He had a black mane and a bit of a lanky figure. His fur was a dark brownish orange and he had piercing emerald green eyes.

"I'm the King of these lands and I want to know the reason as to why you are so close to our border." Simba hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"You're King Simba?" The rogue asked looking surprised.

"Yes and you are?" Simba asked.

The rogue stared at him for a minute. "My name is Moto."

"Alright Moto," Simba nodded. "Why are you so near our borders?"

"I was simply trying to catch a stray hare that was near your borders. I cannot hunt for my leg has been sprained."

"Where's your Pride?" Simba asked.

"I have a pride consisting of a few lionesses a few hours from here. We live in some caves in the Outlands." Moto answered.

Simba nodded. He had heard of this Pride from Zazu and it the information Zazu had given him matched what Moto had told him.

"Very well." Simba said nodding at him. "Thank you but I need you to leave our borders unless you are asking to stay with our Pride for a while." He looked at Moto but he shook his head.

"I was simply passing by. Some hyena took a cub from our Pride and we lead the searches out here. I'll be heading back now." Moto gave him a nod before walking north.

Simba watched as he disappeared into the horizon before he began to long walk home, eager to see his family. The sun had set halfway when Simba trotted into the royal den. Nala was settled down with Kion at her side while Kopa was slowly trying to crawl. He spotted his father coming into the den first and mewed and squeaked at Simba, trying to crawl towards him only to fall on his face.

Simba chuckled at his son, using his nose to roll him over onto his belly. "You need some practice don't you?" He licked the top of his head before picking him and placing him by Kion who batted his nose with his paws as Simba nuzzled his cheek. He then turned to his mate and rubbed his cheek against hers and gave her cheek a lick. Nala smiled as he settled down next to her.

"What took you so long at the border?" Nala asked. Kion dragged himself towards his father and Simba scooped him up with his paw and gently placed him at the top of his head. Kion let out a happy squeak. Turning his head to Nala, he explained what he had been doing and what the rogue told him.

"He doesn't seem like trouble." Nala said. "Don't worry about him."

"I know." Simba said. "I'm not worried."

"For once." Nala chuckled. Simba grinned at mate.

"You better be glad Kion is on my head right now." Simba smiled. "Or else I would have pinned you down by now!"

"Right." Nala nodded with a smile. "You pin me down." She rolled her eyes at Simba but licked his cheek before looking up at Kion who was giving his mother a wide grin.

"Come on sweetie." Nala pulled Kion off of Simba's head. "It's almost time to sleep." She placed him in her paws, bathing him all while Kion whined and squeaked at his mother, trying to tell her not to bathe him.

Simba turned his attention to Kopa who was lying between Simba and Nala.

"Why're you so quiet today, hmm?" Simba gently tickled Kopa's belly with his nose causing the little cub to laugh. Nala stopped bathing Kion and smiled at her other son before she picked him up and placed him at her side to feed.

"He must be tired. I took them to the River Pride today since you were busy. Kion stayed with me but Kopa was playing with Mheetu and Hofu." She smiled remembering the sight of her six month old son trying to crawl after her brothers. When he had failed to do so, Mheetu and Hofu had come back and gently played with him for the rest of the visit. Nala had watched them along with her mother from the shade of the tree. Kion didn't seem to like the heat but Kopa didn't mind. Nala had enjoyed the visit. She hadn't gone to see the River Pride since before she had gotten pregnant so Kion and Kopa had never been there before today.

"He's falling asleep." Simba said, as Nala finished up with Kion's bath. His eyelids were slowly beginning to droop and Nala gently placed him between her and Simba before picking Kopa up. Kopa's eyes widened as he realized it was time for a bath and he thrashed around the best he could in Nala's paws. Nala sighed at her son before gently grasping him tighter to bathe him. Kion didn't like baths but Kopa hated them. She always Kion first and then dealt with Kopa's bath.

Simba looked at his mate, amused at her bathing Kopa. Simba didn't bathe cubs. He had tried once but the way he bathed cubs gave Nala a headache so she had forbid him from ever bathing them again. Not that he minded. He preferred letting Nala clean the cubs anyways. He knew as they got older they would start running around a lot more and get dirty much more often. He didn't want to deal with that.

When Nala finished bathing Kopa, he seemed to be annoyed at Nala. Simba picked his son up and placed him in his paws and gently used his nose to coax him to settle down and sleep. When he had dozed off, Simba picked him and nestled him against Kion who was now sound asleep. Nala settled her head down close to her sons and Simba did as well. Within a few minutes, the royal family was soundly asleep.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

The next morning, Simba woke up a bit later than usual since he knew that he was free today. He felt something shifting besides him and he turned to see Kion and Kopa using their paws to play fight with each other.

"Having fun?" Simba grinned when Kion startled at the sound of his voice and rolled over, giving Kopa an opportunity to give him another swat.

Simba rose to his paws so he could go get some water. Before he left, he turned to his sons. "Daddy's not busy today so when I come back we can spend the day together." He nuzzled them both before leaving.

Simba walked to the Waterhole and was returning when he saw his father and Akila coming towards him.

"Morning." Akila greeted and Simba nodded at his younger brother.

"What's this rouge Zazu told me about?" Mufasa asked, after greeting his son. Despite not being the King anymore, Mufasa still monitored the Pridelands a bit and checked in with Simba and Zazu occasionally.

"So there was this rogue with a black mane and emerald green eyes." Simba said. "He had this brownish orange fur and he said his name was Moto."

"Wait." Mufasa said. "Moto?"

"Yeah." Simba said. "He said he was just passing by because a cub from his Pride was stolen and they led the searches all the way out here."

"And he isn't a threat or anything right?" Akila asked.

"Couldn't be. He said his Pride was small and they probably don't even get enough nutrition since he looked kind of lanky."

"Dad?" Akila nudged Mufasa. "Are you even listening?" Mufasa snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yes I am." Mufasa said. "Simba's right, he isn't a threat. I have to go find your mother now. If you see Ajjali tell her to find us." He nuzzled both his sons before he headed back to Priderock.

"That was weird." Simba said.

"He's hiding something." Akila said. "I want to find out what it is."

"Well that's going to be easy." Simba sighed. Both he and Akila knew better than to cross the line with Mufasa.

"I'll just tell Mom later." Akila shrugged. "If anyone, she can figure it out." Simba nodded and the brothers headed back to Priderock. When they reached Priderock, Chumvi walked out looking sleepy.

"Didn't sleep well?" Simba smirked at his friend. He and Kula had twins, a boy named Enye and a girl named Jasiri a week ago.

"Trust me; I would actually sleep if Jasiri went to sleep at night." Chumvi said, giving him a grin.

"Come on." Akila said. "Let's go to the Waterhole. I'm thirsty and some water will wake you up!" He and Akila headed down Priderock while Simba went to join his family.

Nala finished feeding Kion and Kopa just as Simba walked in.

"I'm not busy today." Simba said. "I'll watch them for a while. Go and have some time to yourself." Nala nodded and nuzzled her mate as she got up. "I'll be back soon then." She walked out of the den and Simba settled down next to Kion and Kopa.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Back in the Outlands, trouble was brewing in Moto's Pride.

"You bumped into Simba?" A lioness growled. "And you didn't kill him?"

"Zira!" Moto growled. "Does it look like I'm in any fighting condition right now?" He motioned to his injured paw.

"Did you tell him your name?" Zira asked.

"I told him my name was Moto. After all that should have been my real name is that bastard Ahadi hadn't interfered."

"Scar," Zira said, speaking his real name. "How about we go see Nuka? He's been asking to see you for the past while. He's too tired to get up right now."

"When is he not sick Zira?" Scar asked, shaking his head before giving his mate a look. "All I asked from you is one thing. To provide me with a suitable heir. And you failed!" Zira felt her heart clench at the thought that she knew was true. Their first born had died at birth and then the next one was Nuka but he was too weak. Zira doubted that he would even grow a full mane when he grew up.

"Then we can try again!" Zira exclaimed. "Now if you want to. You need an heir as soon as possible for you to take over Simba's Pride." She was terrified that Scar would choose another lioness to be her mate.

Scar smiled and nuzzled his mate before they walked off to find a secluded area.

 **So did you guys guess that Moto was actually Scar when Simba first confronted him? Reminder that since this story is combined with that one shot stories thing I was going to do, you are welcome to tell me anything you want to see in this story and I'll do my best to add them in. Hope you guys enjoyed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three and please review. Also, just wanted to let you guys know I made a mistake in the last chapter but I have fixed it. The names of Chumvi and Kula's cubs were supposed to be Jasiri and Enye but I accidently typed Kovu instead of Enye. So just keep that in mind. By the way, Enye means strong or powerful in Swahili.**

A few days later, Simba remembered how he had wanted to ask his mother about Mufasa's surprise when they had mentioned Moto to him. After returning from a meal, Simba found Sarabi watching Kion in the den.

"Hi Mom." Simba said, nuzzling his head against Sarabi. She returned her son's affection.

"Where's Kopa?" Simba asked.

"Shani took him out." Sarabi said. "Don't worry. Is there anything wrong?"

"A few days ago, I told Dad about the rogue I confronted. His name was Moto. When Akila and I told Dad, he seemed like he knew something but he won't tell us and I don't want to make him mad. But can you ask him Mom?" Simba asked. "Please."

"Of course." Sarabi nuzzled him. "But if it was a problem, I'm sure he would have told you by now. After all, he would never want the Kingdom or your ruling to suffer."

"I know." Simba said. "But I just want to know what he was hiding. Can you find out and tell me?"

"I'll do my best." Sarabi said and Simba nodded before he turned to Kion.

"Come on Kion!" Simba said. "Mom's back." Kion mewed at his father when he mentioned Nala. Sarabi smiled and nuzzled her grandson and son. "I'll see you later." She licked Kion's face before Simba carried him out of the den to find Nala.

On the way down, he bumped into Akila who had also returned from the afternoon meal. Nala had led half of the hunting party and had taken only the younger more agile lionesses to hunt down a hippo. It had fed the entire pride well.

"Hey squeaker." Akila rubbed the top of Kion's head with his paw as Simba set him down on the ground.

"Did you ask Mom about the thing with Dad?" Akila asked, looking up at Simba.

Simba nodded. "I just asked and she said she would try her best." Akila nodded and turned his attention back to Kion who had pulled himself towards his uncle and was now latched onto his paw. Akila looked up at Simba with a grin.

"Simba I swear your cubs like me better than you!" Akila laughed. "Look at him! He won't get off."

"He's onto you like a monkey Akila." Simba grinned. "That would make you a monkey's uncle!" With a laugh, he jumped back as Akila tried punching him.

"Are you calling my mate a monkey's uncle Simba?" Came a voice. It was Malaika. Simba only grinned at his sister in law.

Akila nuzzled Malaika before she turned back to Simba. "I bumped into Nala. She said that she already fed the twins this morning so they're not going to be hungry. She'll come get Kion when she finds Shani and Kopa." Simba nodded.

"I have to watch the crèche now." Malaika said. "I can take him too."

"Thanks Malaika." Simba said.

Malaika turned towards her nephew and smiled at Kion. "Come on sweetie. Let's go." She picked Kion up and headed back into the den.

Simba looked at his brother once Malaika was out of earshot. "I can wait until you two have a cub. I'll teach him or her to drive you insane!" Akila gave him an irritated look as Simba walked past him.

"Where are you going?" Akila called. "I thought you weren't busy today!"

"I'm not." Simba said. "I just have to tell Zazu to do an errand for me." Akila nodded and went back into the dens.

Simba walked on continuing on his way to Zazu's tree. He wanted to tell Zazu to send a messenger to find Moto's Pride and see if he could gain any information on them. Something deep inside Simba told him that he would need it.

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A few months passed and with it there was another surprise to the Pride when Akila and Malaika announced that they were expecting a cub. Along with that, Simba was enjoying being with his sons more than ever when they started to learn how to walk. Kopa learned how to walk quite early in life and soon began to run more than walk while Kion wasn't as fast, he was learning how to walk just fine.

One day, Simba was in the den with his sons while Nala was with Malaika who was close to giving birth.

"Alright Kion!" Simba settled down in front of his youngest. "Run to me!" Kion mewed and ran a couple steps before he fell right on his face. He mewed and Simba gently rolled him back to his feet.

"Don't worry son." Simba rubbed his cheek against his. "You'll get the hang of it soon."

Kopa trotted over to his father and pounced on him playfully. However, since he had only learned how to walk and run recently, he missed badly and crashed back onto Kion. Simba grinned at the sight of Kion's annoyed face. Kion growled playfully and pushed his brother off, as the two began to wrestle, rolling around the den.

Simba winced as he saw how dirty they had already gotten. He had just taken them to the area of soft grass by Priderock to play in before it got too hot.

" _Nala is going to kill me. She just bathed them before she left."_ Simba thought.

Suddenly, he heard commotion in the den and he hurried in there to see what happened. He saw Kudeka and Sarabi hurrying into the nursery den along with Shani.

Nala and Shinda hurried into the den.

"What happened?" Simba asked, turning towards his mate.

"Malaika went into labor." Nala said. "Where's Akila?"

"I don't know. I have to go find him." Simba said.

Tama walked up to them. "Simba, go find Akila. I'll watch Kopa and Kion."

"Thanks." Simba looked as his friend gratefully before he hurried out of the den to find his brother. Luckily, he spotted Akila returning to Priderock.

"Akila!" Simba called. "Come back to Priderock! Malaika's in labor."

"What!?" Akila's jaw dropped. "How…when…is she okay?!"

"Hurry up let's go. The lionesses are with her so don't worry." Simba said as they hurried back to Priderock. They went into the den to see that Shari had also gone to assist Malaika and Tama and Kula were watching Enye, Jasiri, Kion, Kopa, Ari, Tanabi and Haru.

Sarabi walked out of the den and nuzzled Akila. "Don't worry. Her contractions are coming fast so the delivery will be fast. It'll be over soon."

"Is she okay?" Akila asked, looking worried.

"She's fine." Sarabi said. "Labor will be quick and easy for her." Suddenly there was a pain filled roar from the den that Malaika was in and Sarabi hurried back in.

"Now do you see why I was so worried when Nala was in labor?" Simba smirked at Akila. Instead of one of his sarcastic comebacks, he only nodded.

Malaika's father, Hariku hurried into the den followed by Zuri and Anjani. "Malaika went into labor?" Akila nodded at his father in law.

"Don't worry she'll be fine." Hariku said, nuzzling him before he took Zuri and Anjani and they settled down to wait for news about Malaika and the cub.

Another hour or so passed and there were more pain filled shrieks coming from the den. Akila winced and closed his eyes as he heard Malaika roar in pain.

Soon the noise died down and everyone knew that the cub had been born.

"Did you two choose a name yet?" Simba walked up to Akila with Alex and Chumvi who had Enye and Kion with him.

"We fought for hours straight on names." Akila rolled his eyes. "But Malaika has her heart set on naming our cubs so she chooses." Enye crawled over to Akila and latched onto his paw. Akila smiled at the cub before bending down and giving him a nuzzle.  
"I really want a son though." Akila bit his lower lip anxiously as he handed Enye back to Chumvi.

"So did me." Chumvi smiled remembering the day that his own cubs had been born. He had wanted nothing more than a son of his own and he had been thrilled that his mate had given birth to a son and a daughter. He finally had a son of his own.

Chumvi smiled looking down at Enye. This was his son. He had a son who he could teach anything he wanted to. He vowed to make sure both his cubs grew up happily and safely. He would do anything to assure that.

A few minutes later, Nala walked out of the den with a happy smile on her face.

"Nala?" Akila rushed up to her. "Is the cub okay? Was it a boy? A girl? How about Malaika?"

Nala laughed at her brother in law's nervousness. "Malaika's fine along with your cub. She had a healthy boy. Congratulations." Akila grinned and hurried into the den as the other lionesses exited.

Simba nuzzled his mate and Nala and Kula walked over to Simba and Chumvi. "Did Malaika name him yet?"

Kula nodded. "His name is Vijay. A strong name for a strong child." Simba smiled at the thought of his new nephew.

He saw his parents along with Kudeka and Hariku going into the den and he and Nala went in followed by Chumvi and Kula. Alex, Shinda, Tojo and Shani were already there with their sister, fawning over the little cub.

Malaika smiled as she saw everyone walking in and licked the cub. Vijay slowly opened his eyes revealing the same emerald green eyes as Malaika. His fur color looked like Akila's only a tad bit lighter and browner since Malaika had brown fur.

Nala settled down beside Malaika and Malaika gently placed Vijay into her paws. Simba and Nala had been chosen as the cub's godparents. The cub mewed confusingly but calmed down when Nala nuzzled the top of his head.

"Congratulations." Simba softly nuzzled his brother and Akila returned his affection. Nala, Sarabi and Kudeka gently fawned over the cub for another few minutes before giving him back to Malaika.

"Malaika, we'll get leaving now." Sarabi said. "You need some rest." Malaika nodded.

"I'm going to tell Zazu to tell the River Pride about the birth." Akila said and got up. Everyone left leaving Shinda and Tojo alone with Malaika.

"Do you want me to stay?" Shinda asked, looking at Malaika. "Akila might take a while."

"No I'll be fine." Malaika said. She was a bit annoyed at her older half siblings. None of them had volunteered to be her cub's godparents yet they had fought to be Nala's cubs' godparents. Despite the fact that Nala was their cousin, Shinda, Tojo and Shani considered her a full sister to them where she being their half-sister didn't even matter to them. However, Simba and Nala had wanted to be the Vijay's godparents and Akila had wanted to give the position to his brother and his mate. Malaika had been happy with that.

Malaika hadn't bothered to tell their mother about it. Ever since the war between the River Pride and Pridelanders and after the Pride's had been united, she had changed a lot. Before, she had mostly taken Malaika's side in arguments but not anymore.

She felt Vijay nuzzling his face against her chest and Malaika smiled. "It's alright my little one. You'll get all the love and attention you need. I'll make sure of that."

A few minutes later, Nala entered the den with Kion and Kopa behind her. "Malaika sorry to bother you but apparently since Simba gave Zazu the day off; they have to go track him down now. They might take a while."

"It's fine." Malaika smiled at her cousin. Nala treated her nicer than her own half siblings.

"I'll stay here." Nala said settling down next to her. "Aren't you tired?"

"No I'm not." Malaika said. "And I don't think he is either." She smiled at Vijay who had rolled around in her paws and was looking at Kopa and Kion curiously. Kion and Kopa seemed to be fascinated with the new cub. Gently picking him up by the scruff, Malaika placed Vijay between her and Nala so the twins could get a better look.

"Boys," Nala looked at her sons. "Be gentle!"

Kion mewed at gently tapped Vijay with his paw. Vijay grabbed Kion paw and gnawed at it and Kion didn't pull away.

"I think everyone was hoping you'd have a girl." Nala chuckled. "We already have two boys in the family."

Malaika laughed. "I was hoping for a daughter too. Akila had his heart set on having a son though."

"I know he did." Nala said. "He would not stop talking about having a son."

An hour passed before Akila came back into the den and by now, Vijay was getting tired. Nala took the twins out to give the family some time alone.

She saw Simba coming back into the den and she nuzzled her mate. "Was Zazu that hard to track down?"

Simba grinned. "Yeah. But he gave me some news though. Remember that rogue, Moto I told you about?" Nala nodded.

"So apparently your father and some other males confronted him as well because he was near their borders." Simba said.

"Really?" Nala asked. She hadn't been to the River Pride for quite a while now and she had been meaning to visit soon.

"He said that they were looking for herds since there's nothing to eat around where they live." Simba said. "I just have this really bad feeling about him."

"You're being paranoid…as usual." Nala chuckled, licking his cheek. "It's common with rogue Pride's to hunt near borders."

"Yeah I guess. Plus my mother said my father wouldn't tell her anything about it either. So that's been annoying me too." Simba said remembering how Sarabi had had no luck with Mufasa.

"Simba if it was something important he would have told you." Nala said. "He would never want your kingdom or your ruling to suffer."

"Yeah I guess you're right." Simba said, nodding.

"Aren't I always?" Nala smiled and Simba gently nipped her cheek.

"The River Pride is going to visit tomorrow." Simba said. "Your parents and a few others. To see Vijay."

Nala nodded before turning her attention back to the cubs. "Couldn't you have kept them out of the dirt while you were watching them? I just gave them a bath before I left." She gave her mate an exasperated look and Simba only laughed before the family headed down to meadow to spend some time together.

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Meanwhile back in the Outlands, Scar and Zira were in a heated argument.

"I have given you enough chances." Scar seethed as Zira lowered her head. Their past few attempts to mate had been useless. Zira had given birth to a girl that she had named Vitani. They had tried several times after that, but Zira hadn't gotten pregnant.

Scar had realized he was now past his cub bearing stage and it only angered him more at Zira for failing to give him a male cub while he had been fertile.

Suddenly a new idea hatched into Zira's mind. A way for Scar to have a heir yet keep her as his mate.

"Who says the cub has to be of your blood?" Zira asked.

"What are you talking about?" Scar asked.

"We can find another cub. Your heir doesn't have to be related by blood to you Scar. Blood doesn't matter. Look what your own brother did to you! He was your full blood brother as well. Blood doesn't matter." Zira said. Scar nodded smiling at her.

"And where do you intend to get this cub from?" Scar asked.

"The Pridelands. We can steal a cub from the Pridelands. At least, it'll have Pridelander blood in it like yours." Zira said.

"I like it." Scar said. "I'll send Kito into the Pridelands to spy for me, starting tomorrow. He can tell us when the best time to take the cub will be." Kito was a vulture who Scar had appointed as his own major domo.

"And think about it." Zira said. "If we take the cub, Simba will get blamed for not being able to protect his Pride enough. It'll weaken his ruling and his subjects will be angry at him." Scar nodded, his spirits rising at the thought of his nephew losing the throne.

"Let's move the Pride a little bit closer to the Pridelands border." Zira said. "In case there is an attack, we'll have our Pride ready. Not to close, but just close enough."

"Very well done Zira." Scar nodded. "I couldn't have thought better myself."

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A couple weeks passed by and with it, Simba's reign was even better than before. Kion and Kopa were fully mobile now and in a few months they would begin to talk as well.

What made Simba and his friends even happier was that all their cubs seemed to get along very well and it seemed like they would be close friends as they grew up. One day, Simba and Chumvi were patrolling the border when Chumvi stopped and sniffed the air.

"Do you smell that?" Chumvi asked. Simba stopped, and sniffed the air.

"Rogues!" Simba growled. "And a lot of them as well."

"Maybe we should tell the lionesses to go back to Priderock." Chumvi said. "Just until we settle this out." Nala, Kula, Tama, and Shari had taken the cubs to a pond nearby so the cubs could cool off in the water.

"Let's find Amri and Moraan and tell them too." Simba said.

"Simba!" Amri crashed through the bushes.

"What's wrong?" Simba asked, looking at Amri's worried face.

"Moraan and I went back to join the lionesses." Amri said. "When we reached the pond, the lionesses were frantic." He looked at Chumvi.

"Why? What happened?" Chumvi asked.

"Enye…he…he's missing." Amri said.

"What?!" Chumvi roared. The males sprinted back to the pond where the lionesses were looking around frantically.

"What happened?" Chumvi asked hurrying over to his mate. Kula looked like she was near tears and Jasiri was settled between her mother's front legs, sensing that there was something wrong.

"Enye's missing!" Kula said. "We turned around for a second to help Jasiri out of the water and when I looked back he was gone!"

"How…" Chumvi's voice trailed off. He was slowly beginning to panic. How could Enye have disappeared that fast?

Moraan growled. "He just didn't walk away. Enye's too small to get away that fast. Someone took him!"

Chumvi let out an angry snarl. "It must have been those rogues we smelt at the border." He extended his claws dangerously at the thought of them harming his son.

"No it couldn't have been a rogue." Shari said. "We would have heard it or seen the rogue running away with Enye."

"It doesn't matter now." Simba said. "We have to find Enye. Tama, Shari take the cubs back to Priderock and send search parties to help us. Nala, Kula come with us to the Outlands and we can start looking."

"Tell Zazu to send the word out to the River Pride. My father will organize search parties for him." Nala added, nuzzling Kula who by now had tears in her eyes at the thought of her missing cub.

Tama and Shari nodded and herded the cubs back towards Priderock while Simba, Nala, Chumvi, Kula, Amri and Moraan ran towards the borders.

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Scar waited impatiently in the Outlands for Kito to return with the cub. For the past few weeks he had sent Kito into the Pridelands to monitor their activity and return with news on the cub. Scar had chosen, Enye, Kula and Chumvi's son.

He knew Chumvi was Ishan and Penda's son. He growled at the thought of Ishan. He had been the one to help him get exiled.

From Kito's reports, Enye was a healthy cub and looked a bit like him with dark fur and a dark brown tuft of fur.

Zira who was waiting at his side nudged him. "Scar look!" Scar looked to see Kito returning with the cub between his large claws.

Kito settled down in front of him, dropping the cub roughly causing it to squeak and mew.

"Let me see my new son." Scar smiled and rolled the cub over so he could get a good look at him. He smiled it was a healthy cub as well. He had dark pine green eyes, something he had inherited from his grandfather and father along with dark brown fur. He had a small tuft of dark brown hair on his head, so he would have a dark brown, almost black mane as he grew up.

For Scar, it was perfect.

"Perfect." Scar bent down and pulled the cub closer to him and Zira. Enye mewed frantically and tried running away. The cub's eyes were filled with tears and his fur was dirty from the number of times Kito had dropped him on his way back to Scar and Zira.

Enye stared at the strange lion and lioness. He wanted his mother and father! He was quite confused with what happened. He had been with his mother and other lionesses and cubs he knew before some big creature had snatched him and carried him up. He wondered where his mother was? And what about his father? He smelled several different scents in the air but none of them belonged to his mother or father. Where were they? Enye mewed looking around, wondering if his parents would be able to hear him. When there was no familiar sign of them, the tears unlocked freely in his eyes.

Zira smiled and nuzzled the cub but it didn't stop the river of tears streaming down the cub's face. "What should we name him?"

"Kovu." Scar said. "His name will be Kovu."

 **I decided to end it here. What did you guys think? Another reminder that if there is anything you guys want to see in the story, please just leave it in a review and I'll be sure to work it into the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter three and please review.**

A few days passed and the searches for Enye had been useless. The Pride still didn't give up. They were determined to find the little cub. Simba had led the searches well into the Outlands but Scar's Pride had moved much further away from the border, so even Zazu wouldn't be able to find them.

The River Pride had also been informed and they had searched for just hard and long as the Pridelanders had for Enye was related to them just as much as he was related to the Pridelanders. But there was still no use. There was no sign of Enye.

One month after Enye had disappeared, Chumvi himself had approached Simba and told him to call off the searches. He and Kula along with all the others knew it was useless. No rogue had taken him. He had probably been eaten by a snake or vulture.

Enye was gone.

Kula and Chumvi were depressed for weeks straight. Jasiri had been cared for her by her grandparents along with her parents' close friends. Sarina and Rojo had been coming to Priderock a lot to be there for their daughter and to help take care of Jasiri along with Ishan and Penda.

Every day Nala's heard ached seeing her usually happy and positive friend be consumed by grief. She also knew how badly Chumvi had wanted a son. He had finally gotten one only to be ripped away from his cub at such a young age.

One day Nala was trying to get Kula to eat. She had come back to Priderock to find Shari and Tama waiting for her so she could try to get Kula to come out and eat. Both of them knew that Nala was the only one out of the four of them who could be gentle yet fierce at the same time.

"Kula please." Nala pleaded. "If you're not going to eat for your sake, then eat for the sake of Jasiri." When Kula didn't reply, Nala sighed and shook her head. Kula hadn't eaten for a week straight. She didn't know where Chumvi was. Kula spent a lot of her time in an uncomfortable sleep and while she was dozing off, Chumvi would leave and wander around the Pridelands mindlessly for hours straight.

" _We couldn't save Enye."_ Nala thought. _"But I'm going to save you whether you like it or not."_

"Listen to me!" Nala grabbed Kula and roughly pulled her onto her feet. Kula only looked at Nala with incredible grief in her eyes.

"Jasiri said her first word today." Nala said. "But neither your or Chumvi were there to hear it. Yes, you are going to miss out on everything with Enye. He's gone. You don't have a choice with Enye. But you have a choice with Jasiri. You can give everything you wanted to give to Enye to Jasiri. You already missed out on her first word but you don't have to miss anymore. That's your choice Kula. Because at the rate you're going at it looks like you're going to lose Jasiri too!" She let Kula go and walked out of the den, satisfied that would get something into her head. Shari and Tama had been watching from the entrance of the den and smiled at Nala.

"Where's Chumvi?" Shari asked.

"Simba and him went for a walk." Tama said. "Moraan and Amri went too."

"I think I got something through Kula's head." Nala said. "Let's go find Chumvi." This had been a constant cycle for them for the past while. Checking up on Kula and Chumvi. But they knew that if they had been the ones to lose a cub, both Chumvi and Kula would do just as much as they had done.

Kula slowly walked out of the den a few minutes after they left. She saw many of her Pride mates looking happy and surprised that she had gotten up but neither of them approached her either, knowing she had to take it slow.

" _You don't have a choice with Enye. But you have a choice with Jasiri."_ Nala's words echoed throughout her head. Taking a deep painful breath, Kula walked down the side path of Priderock to look for her daughter. She had missed out on her too much as of late.

"Kula?" Came a soft voice. She turned to see her mother, Sarina along with Sarafina who had been visiting Priderock a bit more lately. She didn't want Sarina to be alone and it gave her an opportunity to visit her daughter and grandsons more. Behind them was Tama's mother Afiya along with Penda.

But what caught Kula's attention was who was trotting between Penda's paws. It was Jasiri. Looking up, her emerald green eyes lit up happily and she bounded towards her mother with a happy squeak.

"Mama!"

Kula's heart clenched with both happiness and pain with hearing her daughter's first word. Pulling her in closer, Kula licked the top of her head and nuzzled face against Jasiri. Jasiri mewed and nudged her nose against hers.

"Mama?" Jasiri squeaked, cocking her head as she saw tears in her mother's eyes. Kula only swallowed hard remembering that Enye would never be able to say his first word. He was gone forever.

Kula raised her head to face the other lionesses who were looking at her with a mix of sympathy, happiness and pain. "I can take her from here. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" Sarina asked, exchanging a look with Penda. "We can come with you if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine thank you." Kula said. "I have to find Chumvi." Jasiri mewed and bumped her face against her legs at the mention of her father. Jasiri hadn't seen him much lately. She wondered why. Every time she had asked for her father, her aunts or uncles and grandparents would tell her that he was either patrolling or searching. Jasiri wondered what those meant. She figured that he must do a lot of it since that was the answer she often got when she asked for him.

"He's in the meadow by himself." Penda said. "Moraan saw him there before he came back to Priderock." Kula nodded before picking Jasiri up and carrying her towards the meadow. When they got to the base of Priderock, Jasiri wriggled until Kula set her down.

Jasiri looked around sniffing the air. She felt confused remembering that she hadn't seen her brother for a long time. If she wasn't playing with her friends or family she would spend her time looking for Enye.

Kula nudged her ahead and they began looking for Chumvi. It was Jasiri who spotted him first and ran to him with a cry of "Daddy!"

"Daddy!" Chumvi's head snapped up when he heard his daughter calling out for him and he got onto his feet to see Jasiri hurling towards him and Kula trotting a little ways behind.

" _You can talk now?"_ Chumvi thought. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach realizing just how much time he had missed out with Jasiri.

"Hey little star." Chumvi smiled as Jasiri reached him and he bent down so he was face to face with her. Jasiri happily rubbed her cheek against his and Chumvi licked her face.

Kula came towards him and she buried her face into his mane and Chumvi held onto his mate tightly as they settled down on the ground. Jasiri cocked her head, sensing that something was wrong. Mewing, she nuzzled both of her parents and smiled when they looked up and returned her affection with a loving smile at her.

Chumvi looked at Jasiri cradled between him and Kula. Enye was gone forever. That would never change no matter how much he mourned or prayed hoping for a miracle. Chumvi would never understand why Enye had to die while he got to live. He had finally gotten a son but the ancestors had been cruel enough to rip Enye away from them. But if he kept going like this he would lose Jasiri as well. He couldn't bear that.

He pulled Jasiri against his cheek and nuzzled her. "I've missed you." She giggled and batted his nose with her paws and leaned back with a squeal as Chumvi playfully tried biting her paw.

Turning towards Kula he saw a bit of light returning to her eyes. She caught his eyes and smiled at him. He knew what she was thinking. It was time to move on with life. Enye was gone but they would always love him just as much as they loved Jasiri nor would they ever forget him. Their relationship and love would continue. Jasiri would know about her brother someday. Enye wouldn't just be forgotten like that. Maybe someday they would be able to see him again in the afterlife. But until then, it was time to move on.

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Another month passed and soon life in the Pride was normal again. Kula and Chumvi had managed to go back to their normal selves and Jasiri was back with her parents.

Simba returned to Priderock in a rush that evening. Shari had told him that Nala had collapsed during the hunt and he was anxious to hear more on his mate's condition.

Hurrying up to the ledge, he went into the big den to check if Nala was in there but he wasn't. He noticed Kion wrestling with Vijay. Simba chuckled at his nephew. Despite being about nine months younger than Kion and Kopa, Vijay seemed to be doing fine at wrestling with Kion. He was full of energy and excitement, something Akila would complain about whenever he was tired in the morning thanks to a restless night with Vijay.

"Nala's in the den." Malaika said. "Shinda took Kopa out to the meadow."

"Thanks Malaika." Simba said, bumping heads with her. "I can take him."

"No it's okay." Malaika smiled at him. "Go talk with Nala. She collapsed during the hunt. I can watch him."

Simba nodded and gave Kion and Vijay a nuzzle before trotting into the royal den where Nala was in a light sleep.

"Nala?" Simba nudged her with his muzzle and Nala opened her eyes, yawning.

"Hey sweetie." Nala smiled sleepily. Simba licked the back of her ears before settling down next to her.

"Nala, what happened during the hunt today?" Simba asked.

"I passed out." Nala explained. "I was feeling tired but I didn't bother to think about it. Then when I began the chase, I felt blackness coming over me and I passed out."

"What did Rafiki say?" Simba asked. Nala wrapped her paw around his head and pulled him in closer, licking his nose.

"He gave me some good news. He said I'm tired because I'm pregnant!" Nala smiled at him.

"Wait?" Simba exclaimed. "You're pregnant?" A wide happy smile broke out on his face.

"We're going to have another cub." Nala smiled nodding at him as Simba pulled her face in closer covering it with licks.

"I love you." Simba purred softly into her ears. The two of them stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's company until Kion came running into the den and pounced on his parents.

"Mom! Dad!" Kion had begun talking early in life and now at a year and eight months he was learning fast.

Simba pulled him in closer and gave him a happy nuzzle. "Guess what Kion?"

"Hunt!" Kion chanted. Since he began noticing that Nala left for hunting often, he had begun to constantly repeat the word. Nala had only laughed assuming it was his new favorite word for the time being.

"Not now honey." Nala licked his face. "What do you think of having a new baby brother or sister?" She knew he couldn't understand what she was saying. But she still talked to them a lot. It was something she knew her mother had done when her brothers had been young. It was good bonding time as well as it taught the cubs some new words.

"Kopa?" Kion cocked his head. He wasn't sure what brother meant but he knew whatever it was, Kopa was one of them.

"No not Kopa." Nala said. "A new little brother or sister. In a few months. What do you think?" She pulled him in closer to her and rubbed her cheek against his. Kion only mewed and licked her nose before pulling away from her. "Kopa!"

"I should go see where he is." Simba said. He got up and padded out of the den while Kion occupied himself by holding his tail and rolling around on the ground. Nala watched her son with an amused smile.

Simba soon returned with Kopa on his back. When he saw Nala, Kopa jumped off Simba's back and ran to his mother.

"Hello sweetheart." Nala licked the top of his head. "Where have you been all day?" Kopa only mewed at her before he pounced on Kion and grabbed his tail. Kion yowled in pain before he jumped on Kopa and the two of them began to wrestle.

"Boys," Simba used his paw to separate them and pulled them towards him. "That's enough for now."

Simba nuzzled Kopa who snuggled himself between Simba and Nala. "What do you think of having a new brother or sister Kopa?" Kopa just mewed at him before he buried his face into Nala's fur. Simba knew that he wanted to sleep.

"He's probably tired." Nala nuzzled him. "I am too." She settled down onto her side and pulled Kion in closer so he could rest his head against Nala's neck as she stroked him to sleep softly with her paw.

"Motherhood not what you expected hmm?" Simba grinned at his mate who rolled her eyes.

"Oh don't worry it's what I expected." Nala chuckled closing her eyes. "But I imagined me laying back and watching you do all the work!" Simba only nuzzled her before he settled down close at her side, adjusting himself so that her head would be buried into his mane with Kopa between them.

With that the royal family was peacefully asleep. Little did they know that the peace would not last long.

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A week or two later, Nala was visiting the River Pride. Her mother and father had insisted on seeing her while she was pregnant and they had said that they would come to Priderock but Nala wanted to go to Riverside. She hadn't visited for too long. Shari had accompanied her.

Now Nala was in the shade of the trees that bordered the River along with Sarafina keeping an eye out on her sons who having fun chasing a frog around.

"Where's Dad?" Nala asked.

"He's out patrolling." Sarafina said. "He'll be back soon. He hasn't had much to do these days anyways. How are you feeling?" She nuzzled her daughter.

"I'm fine really." Nala said. "I'm still leading the hunts even though Simba told me not to. I'll step down in a week or two just until the cub is born." Nala smiled at her stomach. It wasn't as big as it had been while she was pregnant with Kion and Kopa so she knew she would only have one cub.

"Are you sure?" Sarafina looked worried. "I stopped hunting fully when I was pregnant. I didn't want to risk it."

"I'll be fine really." Nala said. "Kula and Shari will be taking over for me soon anyways. Tama would too but she's further along than I am." Tama had announced her pregnancy a little earlier than Nala had. She was happy for her friend and even more thrilled that their cubs would be the same age as one another.

Sarafina opened her mouth to protest when a cry from Kion and Kopa caught their attention. Nala turned to where her sons were running to and she saw her father making his way towards them.

"Grandpa!" Kion latched onto Runju who grinned and lifted his paw so he could nuzzle Kion. "Hello my little Prince. What brings you here today?" Kion just mewed at him. Runju turned to Kopa and licked the top of his head before he herded them both back to Nala and Sarafina.

"Hey sweetheart." Runju lovingly nuzzled Nala and she returned her father's affection before he settled down beside them to stay in the shade.

"Runju," Sarafina said. "Please talk some sense into your daughter's head and tell her that she shouldn't be hunting."

"Your still hunting?" Runju asked. "Your pregnant!"

"Not disabled." Nala smirked. "I'll step down in a few weeks. Shari and Kula will take over for me. Did you see Shari? We split up half way to Riverside when she saw Zakia in the distance."

Runju nodded. "She and Haru are with Zakia and Divya." Zakia's daughter, Divya was a month or two younger than Kion and Kopa.

"Nala," Runju said. "Is Simba coming today by any chance? I just have to speak with him about some patrolling."

"He should be. I told Zazu to tell him to come after he's done his rounds and reports." Nala nodded as Kopa came to her side and settled down. Sarafina smiled at her grandson and gently rolled him over to her. "And how're you doing sweetie?" Kopa mewed and playfully grabbed her paw wrestling with it.

"Mom! Dad!" Mheetu and Hofu were bounding towards them. They grinned when they saw that Nala was there with the twins.

"Hey Nala!" Both of them nuzzled their older sister before turning their attention back to Kion and Kopa. Nala, Sarafina and Runju all knew they enjoyed nothing more than being able to play with their nephews.

Kion playfully pounced on Hofu's back and the two of them rolled around on the ground playfully while Kopa occupied himself with playing with Mheetu's tail.

"Anyways," Nala said. "Is there something wrong at the borders?"

"No." Runju shook his head. "There's just something I have to ask him." Nala gave him a look and Runju sighed. "Alright. I saw Moto at the borders and I confronted him. I saw him talking to a vulture and I can't shake off the feeling that he's spying on us."

"Moto?" Nala asked, remembering the rogue from all those months ago. "Why would he want to?"

"I don't know." Runju said. "But I swear to the spirits above I've seen him before. Back before I was King. I'm not sure though, perhaps I'm just mixing him with a rogue that looks like him but I can't shake off the feeling."

"I don't think Simba would be any help, Daddy." Nala said. "He doesn't know anything about him either. But he could help you form a guard duty or something." Runju nodded in agreement.

Nala and Sarafina went back to arguing about hunting while Runju turned his attention to the cubs. By now, Kion was trying to pounce on a grasshopper while Mheetu and Hofu were trying the best to get Kopa to say their names.

Mheetu was on one side of Kopa. "Come on Kopa! Just say it! Say 'Mheetu'! You like me better than Hofu, don't you?"

Hofu shoved Mheetu aside. "Don't listen to him Kopa! Say my name! Say 'Hofu'! Say it!" He stood in front of Kopa, refusing to let him go until he said his name.

Kopa whined, not knowing what to do. He wanted to join Kion but Mheetu and Hofu were both telling him to do something that he didn't understand and wouldn't let him go either! Tears formed in his eyes and he sniffed.

"Boys!" Runju called. "Enough! He's upset." Mheetu and Hofu stepped aside and Kopa ran into Nala's paws and buried his face into her chest. Nala nuzzled him lovingly and licked the top of his head as he settled down in her paws for a nap.

Runju chuckled. "He gets upset easily doesn't he?" He wished he could spend more time with his grandsons. But being part of a different Pride didn't make that easy.

"It seems that he does." Sarafina smiled tenderly at the cub as Kopa rubbed his eyes with his paws an yawned.

Suddenly in the distance they saw the hunting party returning with a few kills. Sarafina got up. "The hunting party is back. Let's go."

Nala picked a sleepy Kopa up and Kion followed her as they went back towards the caves where the kills were being divided. Simba came just as they were about to start eating along with Amri since Shari and Haru were also here.

Once everyone had eaten, and the kills had been disposed of the Pride returned to lounging around while the cubs were full with energy to play.

"Hey Nala." Hofu trotted up to Simba and Nala. "Can we take Kion with us to play with the others?"

"Well…" Nala was a bit worried. She knew it was safe but it was the first time she would be letting Kion out to play without an adult keeping an eye on him.

"Where you going?" Simba asked, grinning at his brother in laws.

"Over to where we always play." Mheetu said. "Some trees behind the dens."

"Nala they'll be fine." Sarafina nuzzled her daughter. "You know that."

"Sure go ahead." Simba nudged Kion towards them with a grin. "Just make sure he doesn't wander off."

"Alright." Mheetu said and they pulled Kion to where they would be playing.

"Simba," Runju came over to his son in law. "Have you had any news on Moto?"

"Moto?" Simba asked, slightly cocking his head. "No, I haven't. I haven't even seen him since I first confronted him all those months ago. Why?"

"I saw him talking to a vulture and I confronted him. I can't shake off the feeling that he's spying on us." Runju said.

Simba was about to tell him that there was no real need to worry when he suddenly remembered how his father had acted when he had first told him about Moto.

Perhaps he should be worrying about him…

He saw Nala studying his face intently and he knew that his mate thought it was no big deal. But just in case it was best to be prepared.

"I don't think it's much of a big deal…but its best to be prepared in case." Simba said.

"So what're you thinking?" Sarafina asked. "A guard?"

"I'll think about it and get back to you in a few days." Simba said. "I have check in with Zazu as well." Runju nodded.

"Mom! Dad!" Kion was running to them at full speed and didn't manage to stop properly. He crashed into Sarafina's legs.

"Careful little cub." Sarafina helped Kion back up.

"Mheetu! Hofu!" Kion stomped his foot down on the ground, whining.

"They must have gotten into a fight." Nala said. "Come on Kion, let's see what's wrong." Kion trotted after her along with Sarafina leaving Simba and Runju alone to converse.

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Soon the time came for Nala to give birth. She was staying at Priderock all the time lately, spending most of her time sleeping. She wanted to be with her cubs but she could barely stand up by herself for she was much too tired.

One hot late afternoon, Simba was returning to Priderock with Kion and Kopa behind him when he heard commotion from the royal den and he hurried to see Akila walking out followed by Tojo and Alex.

"Is Nala in labor?" Simba asked.

"She went in a few minutes ago." Akila said. "Mom, Kudeka, Shinda and Shani are with her. I'll get Malaika to go too. "

"Mom?" Kion looked up at his uncles. Tojo smiled and licked the top of his godsons head. "Mom's busy right now. How about we go play by the pond?"

"Go with them Kopa." Simba nudged Kopa but he was trotting towards Jasiri and Haru who were with Amri and Chumvi.

"Hey Tama, Shari and Kula just went in to be with Nala. I didn't want the cubs looking for them so we're taking them to the trees by Priderock. We'll take Kopa to." Amri said. He knew Simba was going to worry about Nala and the last thing he wanted was for Kopa and Kion to get scared.

"Sure thanks." Simba said. Chumvi grinned and patted him on the back. "Don't freak out this time too!" Simba sent his paw flying at him but Chumvi ducked.

"You two take the cubs." Alex said. "Moraan watching his cubs by the trees by Priderock. Take them and send him back here. You know Simba's going to panic soon." Simba swatted his cousin annoyed but Alex only laughed.

Kopa was off with them while Tojo picked Kion up and took him down to the pond. Halfway down Priderock, he saw Malaika coming up with Vijay in between her legs.

"I heard Nala's in labor." Malaika said. "Is she?" Tojo nodded.

"Go be with her." Tojo said. "I'll watch Vijay if you want."

"You're already watching Kion." Malaika reminded.

Tojo rolled his eyes. "I can watch two cubs at the same time Malaika. I did watch Zuri and Anjani by myself when they were little, remember?"

"Oh really?" Malaika asked her voice sounding tense. "Well what I remember is you and Shinda saying that you didn't want to watch them because they weren't your full sisters."

"Malaika…" Tojo narrowed his eyes. "I'm not getting into this argument again." He knew that she was angry from an argument that she, Shinda and Tojo had had last night. Tojo couldn't even remember where it had started but in the end it had ended up with them pulling up what had happened during the battle which had led to Malaika storming back to Priderock.

"I'll leave him at the crèche." Malaika said and picked Vijay up and hurried back to the dens. Tojo sighed at her before he took Kion back into his mouth.

"Uncle!" Kion whined. "Walk!"

Tojo set him back down with a grin and then rubbed the top of his head. "Think your tough huh?" Kion only laughed and head butted him before he ran down Priderock. Tojo chased after him playfully. When they reached the pond, Tojo sent a splash of cold water at Kion causing him to yelp and move away.

Tojo smiled lovingly at Kion. He loved Kopa and Kion like they were his own sons. They were the sons of one of his best friends and his cousin who he loved and considered a sister. He knew that Shinda, Shani and Alex all felt the same way. That was one of the reasons that Malaika was angry with them. She was their half-sister yet they treated their cousin better than them. And Tojo knew that what made her even angrier was the fact that she knew that they loved Kion and Kopa more than Vijay. That was what annoyed her even more.

" _But she's used to it."_ Tojo thought. _"It's not like its anything new."_

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A few hours later, the pains of labor were leaving Nala's body and she had never felt so relieved. She felt Kudeka handing her a warm bundle of fur and Nala immediately began cleaning her new cub and soon she could make out the cub's face.

"Oh Nala she's beautiful." Shari breathed from where she was standing beside her.

Nala looked down at her new daughter and she felt tears coming to her eyes. This was her daughter, her little cub. She bent down and nuzzled the cub, gently willing it to open her eyes and she gently pulled back when her tiny eyes slowly began to flutter open. Mewing the cub opened her eyes to reveal the same amber red eyes as her father.

"Nala she looks just like you and Simba." Sarabi smiled lovingly at her new granddaughter and gently licked the top of the cub's head.

"I know." Nala purred licking the top of her daughter's head.

It was true. Unlike Kopa and Kion who looked a lot like Simba, the little female cub was a perfect mix of both her parents. She had orangey golden brown fur like her father but it had a creamy look it like her mother's. The shape of her nose and muzzle looked like Nala's while her ears were the same shape as Simba's and her older brothers. She had a tanned underbelly like Nala but her eyelids were dark like Simba's.

To Nala she was perfect. The cub newborn mewed and rubbed her head against Nala's chest and Nala bent down and gently nuzzled her cheek. "Shhhhh my little cub. I'm right here."

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Shinda bent down and nuzzled the little cub.

Nala smiled at her daughter. "Her name is Kiara. My Princess Kiara." It was the name that Simba had chosen out before the twins had been born in case they had a girl and Nala liked it. The lionesses came around Kiara and gently fawned over her for a few minutes. Unlike Kion and Kopa who Nala remembered had been scared when they first saw all the lionesses crowding around them, Kiara seemed to enjoy the attention and happily batted them with her paws smiling widely at the affection they were giving her.

"We'll get leaving now." Tama nuzzled her friend. "And send Simba in. Kopa and Kion are out right now. We'll bring them back."

"Thank you." Nala smiled at the lionesses before they began to leave. A minute later, Simba rushed in and Nala smiled at her mate. At the beginning of her labor, she had asked the lionesses not to tell Simba the gender of the cub this time. She wanted to tell him.

"Nala?" Simba walked over to her and licked the top of her head. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Nala gently returned his affection and Simba turned his attention towards the little cub snuggled in Nala's paws.

Nala watched with a happy smile at the wide grin that broke out on Simba's face as he looked at his youngest daughter for the first time.

"She's perfect." Simba said licking Kiara's face and he settled down beside them. "A perfect mix of you and I."

Simba felt a wave of happiness spilling over him as he looked at Kiara. This was his daughter. His little Princess.

"Hello my little beauty." Simba gently nuzzled Kiara with his nose and the cub smiled widely at her father. She gently grasped Simba's nose with her tiny paws and batted at it. Simba and Nala both smiled lovingly at their youngest cub. They gently bonded with Kiara for a little longer before Simba looked up.

"I'll go get the others." Simba said. "They've been waiting to see you and Kiara for a while." Nala nodded and Simba left the den.

Kiara looked around mewing and Nala gently nuzzled her. "There there my little one. Daddy will be back. Don't worry."

Tojo and a lot of the Pride walked in and they all fawned over the new cub for a while. After a while, Kudeka and Sarabi told Nala to get some rest and everyone left to give the Queen and her cub some privacy. Minutes later, Kopa and Kion bounded in with Simba behind them.

"Mom!"

Nala smiled at the excitement on their faces. "Kopa, Kion come here." She pulled both of them in closer so they could get a good look at Kiara.

"That's your new little sister." Simba nudged both his sons. "Her name is Kiara." Kion gently batted Kiara with his paws and mewed when Kiara grasped his paw with her own and gently gnawed it. Kion squeaked and pulled back looking at his younger sister, looking annoyed but Kiara only gave him a wide infant grin. Simba grinned at their antics.

"Kopa?" Nala nuzzled her other son's cheek. "Why're you so quiet sweetie?" Kopa softly mewed and touched Kiara's paw gently with his own. When she looked up at her other brother, Kopa bent down and touched his head against his. Kiara giggled and batted him with her paws.

"He seems to be taking it well." Simba laughed and nuzzled Kopa.

Nala smiled and set Kiara at her side and settled her head down in her paws so she could get some sleep. She was tired from labour although she knew Kiara wasn't.

"Can you watch them?" Nala asked looking at Simba. "So I can get some sleep?"

"Of course." Simba settled down on the other side of Kiara and stroked Nala's head with his paw. "I sent Zazu to the River Pride. They said that they would visit tomorrow so you can get some rest today." Nala nodded and within a few minutes she was asleep.

"Simba!" Akila trotted in a few minutes later. "Hey if Nala needs some rest I can take Kion and Kopa for the day. I'm taking Vijay to the pond with Alex. I'll take them too."

"That would be great." Simba said. He knew Nala needed some rest and she couldn't rest with Kion and Kopa around since they were too noisy and active.

"Hey you two lets go." Akila said. "Vijay's waiting for us." Kion and Kopa mewed and trotted outside. Akila nuzzled Kiara before they left. "Hey my little Princess." Kiara giggled and licked her uncle's nose. Akila grinned and looked at Simba. "See I told you your cubs like me better than you!" Simba rolled his eyes at his younger brother but it didn't stop a grin from forming on his face as Akila trotted out of the den.

He heard Kiara mewing and squeaking at him and he turned his attention to the newborn cub.

"Hey my little beauty." Simba nuzzled her. "Why don't you get some sleep with Mom?" Kiara mewed and rolled over so she was buried into Nala's fur and Nala instinctively wrapped her paw around Kiara in her sleep. Simba laid his head down beside them and soon the three of them had drifted off.

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A few weeks after, Kiara's birth, Simba and some of his friends were patrolling the border. When they were done, Simba was just about to end it he heard Chumvi calling for him.

"Simba!"

Simba along with Amri, Moraan, Tojo and Alex went to the sound of his voice to see Chumvi standing in front of a few thin looking scrawny lionesses.

Simba immediately took his role as King.

"I'm King Simba of these lands. If I may ask, who are you?" Simba asked.

The oldest looking lioness stood up. "My name is Hasira. Your highness, my sisters and I have come seeking a safe place to live. We have lived rogues for a long time now after our Pride was taken over by rogue males. I humbly ask for your permission to join your Pride." She bowed her head.

"These four are your sisters?" Simba asked, looking at the other four lionesses.

"These two are my sisters." Hasira said and two lionesses stepped forward. "This one is Upesi and this one is Fikiri. The other two are members of our own Pride, Maisha and Usiku. Although we are not of the same blood, throughout our years they have grown to be sisters to me."

Simba nodded and gave them a long look. He didn't see any harm in letting the lionesses into their Pride. Sure, it was five lionesses but if they were to do anything, it wouldn't be hard to take them down. Besides, they weren't very young either; they needed the safety of a Pride.

"Very well then." Simba said. "If you can accept I as your King and my mate Nala as your Queen and pledge your loyalty to our Pride and be peaceful with the other Pride members. We have worked hard for this peace and I will not let it be tossed away."

"Of course." Hasira nodded along with the four other lionesses. "We promise." They followed the males back to Priderock and they were greeted warmly by the other members.

That night, Hasira gathered around her sisters.

"What next?" Fikiri hissed. "I don't want to waste any time."

"Hush." Upesi said. "We must be patient for a few months. If anything happens while we're still new here they will blame it on us." Maisha and Usiku nodded.

"If there is anything Scar has taught me." Hasira said. "It is patience. We must be patient."

 **I was going to add some stuff about Scar but the chapter was getting long so that'll be first in the next chapter. Sorry for not posting up reviewer responses but I'm actually going to fall asleep right now. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter five and hope you enjoy.**

Three weeks later, Simba woke up to the sounds of his cubs whom were wide awake. He silently groaned, he had wanted to sleep in since he wasn't' busy today but with three cubs it wasn't possible. He slowly raised his head to see Kion rolling around and playing with his tail while Kopa was batting his paws against Kiara.

"Morning." Nala smiled at him. Simba rubbed his cheek against her's.

Kiara mewed and squeaked at her father and Simba nudged noses with her. "Good morning my little beauty." A loving smile went up his face when Kiara purred happily before giving Simba's nose a lick.

"Dad!" Kion pounced on his head nearly tumbling down on Kiara but Simba caught him.

"What're you so excited about?" Simba grinned rubbing the top of his head. His amber red tuft of hair was growing in well and Kion scoffed before pushing his father's paw away.

"It's been a while since you've been in the den when they wake up Simba." Nala said nuzzling Kion and gently smoothing down the top of his head. "He's just a bit excited."

"I'm going to the Waterhole before I get Zazu's morning report. I'll be back." Simba said standing up and then looked at the twins. "Coming?" Kopa mewed at him while Kion was already out of the den.

Nala watched them go before turning her attention back to Kiara who was squeaking and mewing at her.

"It's alright my little Princess." Nala nuzzled her face against Kiara's. "Someday you'll be big enough to go with them too." She picked Kiara up and headed out of the den down to where the rest of the Pride was resting and settled down next to Sarabi who had been dozing but raised her head when Nala came over.

She smiled and nuzzled Nala before turning her attention to Kiara. "Hello my little Princess. And how are you today?" Kiara mewed and squeaked eagerly at Sarabi who then picked her up and cradled Kiara in her paws.

"Ajjali gone already?" Nala asked and Sarabi nodded. "You know how she is. Although if she knew Kiara was awake she probably would have stayed." Nala smiled at the thought of her young sister in law. Ajjali seemed to adore Kiara and stayed with her whenever she could. Nala trusted Ajjali enough to leave Kiara with her if she needed to make a quick trip to the Waterhole or find Kopa and Kion.

"Could you watch her for a few minutes?" Nala asked. "I have to go find Kopa and Kion."

"Of course dear. I'd be happy to." Sarabi said. Nala nodded and gave Kiara a quick nuzzle before she headed off.

On the way down she bumped into Upesi, one of the rogues that had joined their Pride.

"Hello Upesi." Nala smiled at her. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine thank you." Upesi smiled back. Despite her hidden despise of the Pridelanders, she couldn't help but think that Nala did seem to make a wonderful Queen. "I just returned from taking a walk with Kula and her daughter. She's a sweet little cub and Kula seems to love her a lot."

"She does." Nala agreed. "After she lost Enye…" Her voice trailed off and she silently cursed herself remembering that Upesi wouldn't know about Enye.

"She had another cub?" Upesi asked.

Nala nodded. "Jasiri had a twin brother named Enye. Months ago, a few of us were watching the cubs by one of the ponds. Jasiri was having some trouble getting out of the water so we turned around to help her just for a moment. When we turned back Enye was gone."

Upesi felt a sinking feeling in her realizing that the cub that Scar had stolen had been Kula's cub. She had gotten to know Kula a bit during the past few days and she enjoyed her company. Had she known that it was her cub that they had stolen…

"You never found him?" Upesi asked.

Nala shook her head sadly. "We searched for a month. We knew a rogue couldn't have taken him because we would have seen him going. Enye was too young to wander off too. So we knew a bird or another predator must have taken him."

"That must have been heart breaking." Upesi said. She silently thought of Enye who was back in the Outlands with Zira and Scar. He would never know that only a kingdom away there was his parents and pride who all thought he was dead. She had watched him many times while Zira was off hunting. He was growing into a sweet playful cub but she knew with Scar and Zira that wouldn't last long.

"I'll catch you later." Nala said. "I'm looking for my sons." Upesi nodded and Nala headed off. She found Kion and Kopa with Simba about half an hour later.

"There you are." Nala licked the tops of their heads. "I've been looking for you two everywhere."

"Where's Kiara?" Simba asked giving her a nuzzle.

"I left her with your mother." Nala said. "Aren't you busy today?"

"I'm not." Simba said. "I was actually going to head down to the Waterhole with Chumvi and the others."

"Sure go." Nala said. "But you take Kion and Kopa with you."

"Nala!" Simba exclaimed. "Come on you know I need this break!"

"And Kion and Kopa also want to spend time with their father." Nala gave him a look. "Besides I saw Amri taking Haru along with him and Chumvi took Jasiri. Kion and Kopa can play with them."

Simba tried opening his mouth to say something but one look from Nala shut him up. He smiled at his mate before nuzzling her cheek with his nose. "Alright then, why not?" Nala smiled and gently nudged Kion and Kopa towards them. "Have fun!" She rubbed her face against both of them before Simba took them and headed off.

Nala smiled at the sight of her mate taking their sons with him. She would make sure that all her cubs received the proper attention that they needed while growing up.

" _Besides,"_ Nala thought with a smirk. " _Now I can have some time for myself."_ She knew Sarabi wouldn't mind watching Kiara until the afternoon so she headed back up Priderock to find some of her friends.

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Another while passed and with it Simba's rule was just as strong as it had always been. By now, Kopa and Kion were two years and eight months old while Kiara had just passed her seventh month.

One rainy day a tired Akila was heading back home to Priderock when Zazu came swooping down to him. With a squawk he lost balance and crashed down into Akila's legs. Akila grinned at the sight.

"Hey banana beak. What's wrong?" Akila grinned at the hornbill's annoyed face.

"Trouble at the border. Some rogues came in and killed off some of the zebra herds for sport. I've been looking around for Simba but I can't find him."

"I'm on it." Akila said. "Find Simba and tell him." He turned and bounded away to the border. When he got there, he saw some of the zebra herd crowded around something. Seeing the Prince making his way towards them, they parted midway so Akila could get through.

"What happened?" Akila asked. "Where is your leader, Zara?"

"Here." Zara stepped forward. "Who did this?" She stepped aside so Akila could see what had happened.

It was the bodies of several zebras. Clearly some predator had been killing for sport. No one could eat this much. Padding closer, Akila bent down forward and sniffed the bodies. He could immediately tell that this had been done by lions but not his Pride. It didn't smell like them.

"I sense that the killer is a lion." Akila announced stepping back. "But this wasn't from our Pride. The smell is unfamiliar."

"This against the law!" Zara shrieked. "The predators are only allowed to hunt for meals, not for game. My nephew was one of the victims!"

"This wasn't from our Pride." Akila said. "It must have been rogues. I-"

"What kind of King is Simba if he can't keep rogues out of our lands? He isn't the one paying, we are!" A zebra from the crowd called out.

"Enough!" Akila called. "I understand that this isn't fair to you and I promise that we will find these rogues and there will be justice! But for now, we will be concentrating on finding these rogues first and then after we can talk out what Simba and your herds want to do. Is that understood?" Zara and the rest of the zebras nodded but Akila knew from the way they were looking at him they weren't satisfied.

"Do you want us to dispose the bodies or does your herd want to take it?" Akila asked.

"We will pay our respects and deal with it." Zara said gruffly. Akila nodded and trotted tiredly back to Priderock just as the rain began to come down harder. When he neared Priderock he saw Hasira heading down to him.

"I heard there was trouble at the border." Hasira said. "Is everything okay?"

"I dealt with it." Akila said. "Do you know if Simba is back at Priderock?"

"Yes he is." Hasira said. "I was with Nala and Simba when Zazu told him the news. He said he trusted that you would take care of it. He didn't want to go because he was tired."

"Oh." Akila said feeling a bit frustrated. He too was tired yet he had to deal with the border even though he was only Simba's second in command.

"Nala told me of how you took care of the Pride when she and Simba ran away." Hasira said. "I must say that I respect you for how you step down and let Simba take the credit."

"What do you mean?" Akila asked.

"I mean, your Simba's second in command. Yet you seem to do a lot and you don't even take much credit. When Simba ran away with Nala you stepped up and took care of the Pride when he didn't and when he returned you stepped back down and let him take it. I admire the way you respect and bow down to your brother. I would never be able to do that." Hasira explained.

"Thank you Hasira." Akila said, her words slowly sinking into his head. "I have to go find Simba now." He walked up Priderock slowly thinking about what she had said. Akila realized it was true. He seemed to do almost as much as Simba did and he was one who had been there for the Pride when Simba left. Yet he hadn't received any credit for it. He was still just seen as Simba's second in command. That wasn't fair at all.

"Akila." Simba walked out of the den. "How did it go at the border?" Akila told him what happened and Simba nodded. "Thanks. I'll figure something out tomorrow."

"Why didn't you come?" Akila asked.

"I was tired." Simba admitted sheepishly. "And I figured that you would deal with it. Anything wrong?"

"Yes!" Akila snapped. "I was tired too Simba but I'm the one who had to deal with it. Besides, you're the King, just because you get tired doesn't mean you can sit back and let me deal with it!"

"Akila." Simba gave him a strange look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Akila huffed. "Just tired. Something that you clearly thought you had an excuse for." He shoved past Simba and stormed into the den.

"Dad!" Vijay bounded up to him and nuzzled his face against his legs. Akila smiled and licked the top of his head. "Hey squirt." He ushered him back to where Malaika was and licked his mate's cheek before settling down next to her and he pulled Vijay into his paws. Vijay batted Akila's face with his paws and climbed up his head and began pulling at his ear. Akila knew that that was Vijay's sign that he wanted to play.

"Not now son," Akila scooped him off his head and put him back on the ground. "Later." Vijay whined and tugged at Akila's mane and head butted Akila's nose with his head. Akila sighed and rubbed his sore nose.

Malaika chuckled at her son's annoyed face. "You know he's not going to leave you alone until you play with him." When it came to Vijay, if he wanted to play, he wanted to play. There was no in-between. No matter how much they tried refusing him, he would still insist on playing.

Akila shook his head at his son before grabbing Vijay and tickling his belly. His laugh's brought smiles onto Akila and Malaika's faces.

And for Akila, all angry thoughts of Simba were forgotten as he enjoyed time with his family.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile back at Scar's Pride things for little Kovu did not seem to be going well.

"Mom!" Kovu squeaked. "Dad!" He was in the big cave he shared with his family.

Zira opened her eyes. "Quiet Kovu. I'm trying to sleep."

Kovu trotted in closer to her and nudged her with his forehead. He didn't seem to notice the annoyed look on Zira's face. "Dad?"

"Your father will be in soon." Zira said her voice dismissive. Kovu batted his paws against her face wanting to be fed. He was hungry and he wanted his mother.

Zira bared her teeth at Kovu warning him to stay away. When he persisted, she got up and climbed onto one of the ledges so Kovu wouldn't be able to wake her up again. Kovu whined and mewed at Zira trying to tell her to come down but she pretended not to notice.

Kovu looked at the entrance of the cave to see his sister, Vitani walking in.

"Tani!" Kovu ran up to her and tackled her down. Vitani mewed playfully at him before she pinned him down and the two of them began to wrestle playfully.

"Vitani!" Scar came into the den followed by Nuka. "You're going to hurt him." He shoved Vitani away from Kovu and helped Kovu up.

Kovu beamed brightly at his father and Scar bent down and nuzzled him. Kovu seemed to adore Scar and followed him around whenever he could. Scar walked to the end of the cave and settled down closing his eyes and Zira came down and joined him. Vitani walked over to wear Nuka was laying down a little ways off from them and snuggled onto her older brother's back. Kovu joined his father before burying himself in his mane. He closed his eyes and fell into a wonderful sleep happy that he could be with Scar…unaware that only a kingdom away his true father was thinking of him as he fell asleep.

 **I decided to end it here. I know there was a lot of fluff in this chapter but reminder that since this was originally going to be some fluffy chapters put together but I changed my idea, there will still be lot of family fluff in this story. So in this chapter, some of the animals are beginning to doubt Simba's rule and Akila begins to questions his worth to Simba. I'm pretty sure we all know who actually killed the herd. Anyways, I have no idea when I'll be able to update again. School's been keeping me busy. But until then, stay tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter six and please review. So sorry for the three month wait tie but life gets busy and it's hard to make updates fast.**

After the zebra incident, all was peaceful in the Pridelands again. By now, Kopa and Kion were over four years old and Kiara was almost three. For Nala, time had gone in the blink of an eye. Every day for her was full of love and joy as she and Simba watched their cubs grow. Kopa and Kion were fully capable of talking now and Kiara was beginning to say her first few words each that brought smiles onto Simba and Nala's faces.

One particular day, Simba had promised Kion and Kopa that he would take them on a proper tour around the kingdom and tell those more about being King. It was only recently that they had fully understood that they were next in line for the throne.

Kopa was the first one up on that day, and he shook Kion open. "Kion! Kion! Come on its time!" Kion was snuggled beside Simba's mane with Nala on his other side and Kiara nestled in her paws.

"I know." Kion rolled over and opened his eyes. "I'm gonna check if the suns up yet." He trotted outside followed by Kopa. He grinned when he saw the sun just beginning to peak over the horizon.

"It's time!" Kopa exclaimed. "Let's go get Dad!"

"Dad!" Kion called running back into the den. "Dad! It's time!"

"Dad!" Kopa ran up to Simba. "Dad! Let's go!" Simba sighed in his sleep before rolling over.

"Dad!" Kion pounced on his head. "Come on! You promised!" He jumped up and down on Simba's head.

"Simba…" Nala's voice was barely audible. "If you promised them, keep your promise." She slowly raised her head blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes. She had made sure to sleep early last night knowing that her sons would be up at the crack of dawn.  
"Dad! Dad! Dad!" Kopa pulled at Simba's ear with his teeth before he backed up and charged at Simba with his head.

Simba sighed and cracked his eyes open to see Kion and Kopa eagerly waiting for him. "You promised!"

"I know, I know." Simba said, raising his head and yawning loudly. "I'm up!" Kion and Kopa grinned before racing each other outside. Simba got onto his paws and was about to follow when he heard Kiara mewing at him. He turned to see Kiara slowly trotting towards him calling out for him.

"Daddy!" Kiara squeaked trotting over to Simba. Simba bent down and nuzzled her lovingly and Kiara rubbed her cheek against his. "Me too!"

"Not now my little Princess." Simba licked the top of her head before scooping her up with his paw and placing her back next to Nala. "You're a bit too young." Kiara pouted but Simba gently tickled her side with his nose causing the little cub to laugh.

"Go ahead." Nala licked Simba's cheek. "I'll watch her." Simba nuzzled his mate before going outside to join Kopa and Kion.

Nala watched Kiara's face. It was the same face she had often seen with her brothers when they couldn't follow Nala around somewhere when they had been young.

"It's alright Kiara." Nala cradled her daughter in her paws, rocking her back and forth. "Daddy will take you when you're a bit bigger." Kiara mewed before burying her face into Nala's neck.

"Mommy's not hunting today." Nala said getting up. "I'll play with you." She walked out of the den and Kiara followed behind her and Nala slowed down so Kiara would be able to keep up. She led Kiara down to the Waterhole and after lapping at the water she turned around to see her daughter running after a butterfly. She watched her cub's antics amused for a while until Kiara began to move further from her and she hurried after Kiara.

"Kiara!" Nala stamped her foot down on Kiara's tail. "Where do you think you're going?" Kiara mewed and motioned to the butterfly.

"No my little hunter." Nala laughed. "Not now." She was about to usher Kiara back to Priderock when she caught a faint sight of the river in the far distance. Her thoughts suddenly went to the River Pride that she hadn't visited in quite a while and her father hadn't sent a messenger into the Pridelands for a few weeks. A visit was long overdue.

"Kiara." Nala looked at her daughter. "Come on, let's go visit Grandpa and Grandma!" She ushered Kiara towards the northern border and they were off. The sun was already up and it beginning to get hot when they neared the northern border and spotted Shinda and Kudeka heading south from the northern border towards her.

"Auntie!" Kiara ran to both of them and clung onto Shinda's neck with her paws.

"Hello my little one. And what are you doing out here today?" Shinda nuzzled Kiara's neck with her nose.

Nala approached them and she and Shinda pressed heads together in greeting before she turned to her aunt who nuzzled her lovingly.

"Nala?" Kudeka asked. "Are you and Kiara going to the River Pride?"

"We are." Nala said. "I haven't visited in too long and Simba took Kion and Kopa out for the day so I don't want Kiara looking for them either."

"Mom," Shinda looked at Kudeka. "We should go to. You've been meaning to visit too so we may as well go with Nala and Kiara."

"Why not." Kudeka nodded with a smile. "I told Malaika that I would be back at Priderock by sun high but she'll understand." Kiara squeaked at them and pulled Kudeka towards the border and the lionesses chuckled.

"It looks like I don't have a choice do I?" Kudeka smiled lovingly at Kiara before licking the top of her head and the lionesses went on.

Nala picked Kiara up by the scruff of her neck as they approached the border. Kiara mewed and wiggled around a bit but Nala didn't let her go. She wouldn't risk Kiara falling into the river. The crocodiles that had once lurked in the waters were gone after the border had been released for free passage and it was safe to cross on the stones but the current itself would instantly drown her. Nala shuddered at the thought of it.

Once they were a safe distance away from the border, Nala set Kiara down and let her run ahead of them. She noted that they were heading down a path that she knew she must have walked on a countless number of times.

She remembered how she and her mother had always taken a walk around the Pridelands nearly every morning and they would talk about whatever they had wanted to talk about. Nala hadn't realized how much she had longed to walk among the paths that her mother had taken on and she was grateful that she could bring her cubs here whenever she wanted. Nala wanted to take her daughter on the paths that her own mother had taken her on and talk to her just like she and Sarafina had.

When they neared Riverside they saw the River pride resting underneath the shade of the trees by the River. Nala didn't see her parents but she spotted her brothers playing by the river. Nevertheless, the River pride was happy to see them and they were warmly welcomed and Nala was informed that Sarafina and Runju had left for some time for themselves about an hour ago. Nala let Hofu and Mheetu play with Kiara while she, Kudeka and Shinda settled down with her former Pride mates and enjoyed their in chatting and catching up with one another. A few hours later, Nala looked up to see her parents coming their way and she got up to go and greet them.

Runju and Sarafina spotted their daughter and smiled when Nala approached them. Sarafina pulled Nala closer and licked the top of her head and Runju rubbed his cheek against hers.

"I thought you were forgetting about us." Sarafina smiled at Nala as they began making their way back towards the trees.

"I wasn't forgetting." Nala laughed. "Just busy."

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Kiara noticed her grandparents and ran over to them. Runju picked her up with his paw and gave her side a lick and Sarafina rubbed her cheek against her little face.

"Hello my little Princess. And what are you doing here today?" Sarafina asked, nuzzling her.

"Hofu!" Kiara squeaked. "Mheetu!"

"You're having fun playing with them aren't you?" Runju nuzzled her before they headed back and Nala settled down underneath a tree with her parents so they could have some family time.

"Where are Kion and Kopa?" Sarafina asked.

"Simba took them out for the day." Nala said pulling Kiara back into her paws. "Kiara wanted to go but I knew she would tire out easily so I took her."

"Mom!" Kiara swatted Nala with her paws whining. "Let go!" She squeezed out of Nala's paws and ran towards Mheetu and Hofu.

"Nala, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Runju said. "You remember that rogue, Moto?" Nala nodded.  
"I saw him again and this time I know that there's something up." Runju said. "I don't see any reason as to why he would be so close to our borders many times. I sent Ruka out to find his whereabouts for a few days and he reported that their Pride lives about two days away from here. Why would he come so far?"

Nala nodded thoughtfully. "I get why you're worried…but Simba doesn't know anything about him. And even if he is so close to our borders, he hasn't done anything."

"He hasn't done anything yet." Runju said firmly. "That's not to say that he won't do anything."

"I told him that he was worrying too much." Sarafina said to Nala, ignoring the look that Runju gave her. "But he won't listen."

"Daddy, Mom's probably right." Nala said. "You are worrying too much."

"No," Runju said. "I have a bad feeling every time I think about him and I won't let it go. Now, if you excuse me I have to go."

"Where you going?" Sarafina called after him.

"To the Pridelands," Runju said over his shoulder. "I'm going to find Simba and see what we can do about him."

Nala sighed at her father. She knew Runju always put the safety of the Pride first but she didn't think he had to worry that much.

"Mom," Nala said. "Can you watch Kiara so I can go with Dad? I already fed her so she won't get hungry. The most she's going to need is a nap after she's playing but I doubt it."

"Of course." Sarafina said. "I'll bring her back to Priderock by evening." Sarafina wanted to spend the day with her granddaughter. She didn't get a lot of time with her grand cubs and she didn't want to miss the opportunity. Nala nodded and she nuzzled her mother before hurrying after Runju. She quickly caught up with him. Runju had stopped to talk with Kudeka and then leave Aran in charge of the Pride while he was gone.

"Dad," Nala fell into step beside him. "Is this really necessary? He's just one rogue!"

"A rogue that has a Pride." Runju reminded.

"Okay and look at the size of our Prides." Nala said. "We can take him down easily."

"What happened to your love of avoiding war?" Runju gave her a fond smile and Nala smiled sheepishly at her father.

"When are you going to start visiting more?" Runju asked as they started making their way towards the border. "Your mother and I miss you a lot you know."

"I know." Nala said. "I want to but it's hard with leading the hunting party and taking care of the cubs and doing my part as Queen. It's a lot more than I imagined."

Runju nuzzled her. "It'll be easer as the years go by. Trust me on this."

"It's been almost five years." Nala murmured.

"At least drop Kion, Kopa and Kiara here then." Runju said. "So we can spend some more time with them. Afiya, Rohan and the others were talking about it too. Jasiri, Danyssa and the other cubs don't really come often either."

"I will." Nala said. "I'm just a little worried about leaving them here without me. Kion and Kopa would be fine but I'm a little worried about Kiara."

When they reached the river, they crossed it before heading back to Priderock to see if Simba and the twins had finished yet. Luckily, they spotted them just as they reached Priderock.

"Mom! Grandpa!" Kopa ran to them and nuzzled both of them before turning his attention to Nala. "We had so much fun today! Dad showed us around everywhere!"

Nala smiled and licked the top of his head just as Kion reached them and he nuzzled Runju who lovingly returned his affection. "How about we go back to Priderock and talk about it?" The twins nodded and Nala led them away leaving Simba and Runju to talk.

"Anything wrong?" Simba asked.

"Somewhat." Runju said. "Do you remember that rogue, Moto?" Simba nodded.

"I've seen him near our borders multiple times now." Runju said. "And I can't shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen with him. I told Nala and she thinks its fine. But I'm not going to leave it."

"I know." Simba nodded. "I don't know anything about him…but I think my father does. Let's go talk to him now." Simba remembered how his father had acted strange when he had mentioned Moto.

The two of them headed off to find Mufasa and spotted him heading back to Priderock.

"Dad!" Simba called.

Mufasa turned around and smiled at them. He and Runju chatted for a few minutes before turning his attention back to Simba. "What's wrong?"

"Who's Moto and what do you know about him?" Simba asked straight. He didn't want to waste time. He saw something flash in Mufasa's eyes.

Mufasa sighed and was silent for a minute before speaking. "He was my younger brother."

"What?!" Simba demanded while Runju nodded. Simba noticed and turned to Runju. "You knew he had a younger brother!"

"I heard news that he left the Pridelands just as I was beginning my rule as King. But I had no idea that his name was Moto. From what I knew, his name was Scar." Runju said.

"Why did he leave?" Simba asked. "And how come no one told me this before?"

"After he left, it was forbidden to talk about him." Mufasa said. "And Runju knew that too."

"Simba, I didn't see any harm in not saying anything about him." Runju said looking at his son-in-law. "But that's why I thought he looked familiar when I first saw him. I just couldn't remember exactly why."

"He left because I heard he was planning an attack on me to take the throne and after trying to negotiate with him he wouldn't listen. So I had no choice but to exile him. And although I was never able to prove this, I think he was responsible for our father's death as well."

"Well this is probably why he was so close to our borders! He could still be planning something!" Simba said. "I trusted you and I thought you would never do anything to harm my reign. I guess I was wrong!" By now he was growling dangerously. He turned towards Runju. "You didn't tell me either!" He saw guilt come onto his father in law's face.

"Simba!" Mufasa said. "No, nothing will happen because of him. I will promise you that."

"It better not!" Simba growled before he stormed back to Priderock. He wanted to find Nala and tell her but he knew she was with their cubs right now. On his way, he was so lost in angry thoughts that he slammed right into Akila causing Akila to stumble back.

"Alright Simba, if you're mad at me for not doing the patrol yet I'll do it now!" Akila exclaimed but then he noticed his older brother's face. "Hey what's wrong?" Simba took a deep breath and explained what had happened. Akila's jaw dropped in shock.

"Wow." Akila muttered. "That was the last thing I was expecting."

"And here I was thinking he would never do anything that would let my reign suffer." Simba rolled his eyes.

"Look," Akila said. "He's not done anything so far and that's good. We'll keep as eye out on that Pride and we'll be more cautious of any rogues that want to join our Pride. If he does try anything, we would outnumber him." Simba looked like he was about to protest but Akila stopped him.

"Simba there's nothing else that you can really do." Akila said. "He hasn't done anything yet so let's just leave it at that."

"You're right." Simba said. "I'll set up a guard duty with Runju though and make sure we monitor his Pride for a bit and see what he does."

Akila nodded and the brothers chatted for a few minutes before Akila went to do the patrol. Simba watched Akila go. It was times like these that he was more than grateful that he had a brother like Akila. He didn't know where he would be without Akila at his side. He hoped that his own cubs would grow up and support each other like he and Akila did, especially his sons.

" _As long as stays by my side."_ Simba thought. _"Everything will be okay."_

With his mind still whirling in thoughts, Simba walked away.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Later that day in the den, Nala had finished feeding and cleaning Kopa and Kion as they told her about their time with Simba. Kion was in the den with Nala while Kopa had gone off to play with Haru.

"Mom, where's Kiara?" Kion asked, climbing onto Nala's back.

"I left her with Grandma at Riverside. She'll be back soon." Nala said.

"Is Dad coming back before we sleep?" Kion asked. "He promised to tell Kopa and I stories about being King." He rolled off Nala's back.

Nala licked the top of his head. "He might be busy sweetie. He and Grandpa have to deal with some issues so he might not be back until it's late."

"Mom!" Kopa ran in. "Grandma and Kiara are back!" Sarafina came in behind him with Kiara in her mouth. Sarafina set her down and Kiara ran to Nala.

"Mom!" Kiara wrapped her paws around Nala's neck and Nala nuzzled her face with her owns before Kiara went to her side to nurse.

Sarafina settled next to Nala. "So what happened with your father and Simba?"

"I have no idea." Nala said. "Simba hasn't come back to Priderock since and Dad and Mufasa have been walking around the Pridelands and talking." Kion came by their side and nuzzled Sarafina before settling down next to her.

"Stay for the night Mom." Nala urged. "Dad and Mufasa are probably going to come back pretty late so you may as well stay."

"Well…Mheetu and Hofu are still at Riverside but I can get Kudeka and Shinda to bring them when they return." Sarafina said.

Nala smiled and rested her head against her mother's shoulder. She missed being able to see her every day and even after five years, sometimes the ache still didn't die down.

"Are Mheetu and Hofu gonna come Grandma?" Kopa asked trotting up to her. Sarafina nodded as Kopa climbed into her paws. "Can you finish telling me that story you told us the last time we came to Riverside?"

"Of course." Sarafina said. Kiara stopped nursing from Nala and trotted over to Sarafina. "Me too!"

"Of course my little Princess." Sarafina said as Kiara gently squeezed next to her brother. She wrapped her paws around Kopa and snuggled down.

"Kion?" Sarafina turned to other grandson. "Joining us?" Kion nodded but he was yawning. "I'm kind of tired though." He settled down with his head on top of Sarafina's paw.

"I'm going to go find Simba." Nala said. "I'll be back." She hurried out of the den and scoured Priderock looking for her mate. After nearly an hour, she found Simba settled down at the very peak of Priderock.

"Simba?" Nala asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Avoiding my father." Simba said gritting his teeth. "He knew about Moto this whole time. I thought he would never do anything to harm to reign!"

"What're you talking about?" Nala asked and Simba told her the story.

Nala shook her head in shock. "I can't believe this. And I'm even more surprised that my father didn't tell me."

"Scar's definitely planning something. Why else would be so close to our borders a lot?" Simba said. "He probably still wants to be King."

"I can only tell you what Akila told you." Nala licked his cheek. "Be patient. When something happens we'll deal with it." Simba nodded and nuzzled his face against hers. Closing her eyes, Nala gently licked his cheek before rubbing her muzzle against his. Simba purred happily against her mouth.

"Come on." Nala pulled him towards the den. "The cubs want to see you." Simba nodded and followed Nala back to the den. As reached the den, Sarafina walked out. "Kiara's falling asleep. I have to go find your father. I'll be back."

Nala nodded. "I sent Zazu to tell Shinda and Aunt Kudeka to bring Hofu and Mheetu as well." Sarafina nodded and nuzzled her daughter before heading off. Sarabi and Penda walked out of the den and went down to join Sarafina.

Simba and Nala walked in to find Kion and Kopa circling playfully around Kiara who was squealing and giggling and trying to escape. When she saw Simba, Kiara hurled herself towards him.

"Daddy!" Kiara latched onto Simba's paw. "Kopa! Kion!"

Simba grinned and used his paw to place Kiara on top of his head. "It's alright my little Princess. You're safe up here." He settled down next to Nala.

"You're such a baby Kiara!" Kion scoffed. He climbed up Simba's back and gently pushed her off. With a grin, he settled himself down on top of their father's head.

"Kion!" Kiara's eyes filled with tears. She stomped her foot on the ground whining.

"Kion." Nala gave him look and Kion sighed. "Alright." He jumped down and nuzzled Kiara and she wiped her eyes with her paw.

"Hey you three." Simba pulled all three of them close to him. "Kiara, tell me what you did with Grandma today at Riverside." He nudged Kiara with his nose.

"Play fun!" Kiara babbled.

"Mom, Hofu and Mheetu are coming right?" Kopa turned to Nala who nodded. "They'll be here in the evening when Aunt Shinda and Kudeka come back."

"Yes!" Kion grinned. "I'm gonna wrestle with them so hard!"

"Kion…"Simba raised his eyebrow. "Remember what happened last time?" Tojo, Malaika and Akila had gone to visit the River Pride and Kion had tagged along with them. When they had returned later, Kion had been on Tojo's back. According to Akila, he had wrestled with Hofu so hard that he had sprained his ankle.

"Yeah, I'll be careful this time!" Kion gave him a wide toothy grin.

"Sure you will." Kopa snickered. Kion glared at him before tackling Kopa down. Kopa pushed him off and within seconds they were wrestling around on the ground.

Simba looked at Nala with a grin. "Good luck cleaning them tonight." Nala only rolled her eyes at her mate.

Simba nudged Kiara who was watching her older brothers with a wide infant grin.

"How about you and I wrestle Kiara?" Simba gave her a playful bump and Kiara rolled out of his paws with a giggle. "Daddy!"

"No!" Kiara squealed when Simba began to tickle her and she jumped to her paws and ran away from him. At the same moment, Akila walked into the den and Kiara ran right into him.

"Uncle!" Kiara giggled and wrapped herself around Akila's paw. "Daddy wrestle!"

"Sorry darling." Akila grinned and rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "I would fight your dad but I don't fight amateurs. But hey, do you want to come to the Waterhole and play with Vijay?" He grinned at the look that Simba was giving him.

Kiara mewed and squeaked and Akila looked at Nala.

"Go ahead." Nala smiled. She got up and nuzzled Kiara. "Listen to Uncle Akila!" With that, Kiara and Akila were off.

"I honestly don't know what to do with Akila." Simba said shaking his head but he was smiling.

Nala looked at her mate. "Don't act like you don't do the same with Vijay. Remember what you did last month?" Simba cracked up. He had been taking Vijay back up to the dens when they had seen Akila coming their way. Both Vijay and Simba had hidden in the shadows of a cave and Simba had told Vijay to jump out and scare Akila. The little cub did what his uncle had told him to do. Upon scaring his father, Akila had let out a roar of surprise and had sent his paw flying only to hit a large rock. It had resulted in Akila having a sore paw for a week.

"He deserved it." Simba grinned and settled his head down on his paws. He must have fallen asleep for when Simba opened his eyes again it was morning. He shifted to see Kiara buried into his mane with Kion and Kopa on her other side with Nala. Careful not to wake Kiara up, he gently got up and placed Kiara on the other side of Nala. The cub mewed softly in her sleep but didn't wake up. He was surprised to see that the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet.

Simba remembered what his father had told him last night and he clenched his teeth angrily. Despite what Nala and Akila had advised him to do, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing. He had to find out by himself.

Simba wanted to go find Scar himself. The only news he knew of him was from the reports Zazu gave him. He hadn't bothered to investigate himself.

He glanced back at the den. He knew Nala would have his head if she knew what he was doing. It was better not to tell her. Most of the Pride was asleep since it was so early and Akila would be too. Simba didn't want his brother coming. This was something he had to do alone.

With another glance at Priderock, Simba hurried down Priderock and made his way to the Outlands.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Nala woke up a couple hours later. Kopa was on her back snoring but Kion and Kiara were chasing each other around the den.

"Mom, where's Dad?" Kion asked trotting up to her. Nala nuzzled him.

"I don't know." Nala said. "Did you see Zazu?"

"Yeah I asked him." Kion said. "Zazu said that he and Dad are free for the next few days."

"That's strange." Nala said. "He might be with some of his friends. Come on, let's check." She gently placed Kopa on the ground before trotting out of the den with Kiara and Kion behind her. She led the two of them down Priderock to find Tama and Moraan coming up to them with Ari and Tanabi. Nala greeted her two friends while the cubs wasted no time in wrestling with each other.

"Nala, have you seen Simba?" Moraan asked. "Apparently he's free today so we were going to relax a little but I haven't seen him anywhere."

"I haven't seen him either." Nala said. She had a strange feeling her in stomach wondering where Simba went.

But then again, he might just be monitoring the kingdom for a bit.

"Mom, can we go play?" Tanabi came over to Tama with Kion and Ari behind him.

Tama nodded. "It's fine with me. Nala?"

"Alright," Nala nodded. "But only as long as you stay near Priderock. Nowhere past the Waterhole. Okay?"

"Alright!" The three male cubs bounded away.

"Mom!" Kiara whined, stamping her foot down angrily. She wanted to play with her brother and friends but they always seemed to leave without her. She looked up glaring at Nala who gave her daughter an amused smile while Moraan and Tama chuckled at her.

"Kiara, why don't you come play with Danyssa?" Moraan suggested. "Come on, let's go!" After getting a nod from Nala, Moraan led Kiara away leaving Tama and Nala alone.

"I'm getting worried." Nala muttered. "Simba rarely leaves without telling me where and if he does, it almost never goes on days that he doesn't have anything to do."

"Want me to come help search?" Tama asked.

"No, its fine." Nala said. "If you and Moraan could just watch Kiara that would be great. But if Simba does come back to Priderock while I'm gone, can you tell him that I'm looking for him?"

"Of course." Tama said. Nala nodded and pressed her head against Tama before she trotted off.

 **So I decided to end it here just because the idea I have of what happens next seems to better to be put in one chapters. Also, I know that I haven't done responses to reviews for a few chapters but I promise that it'll be in the next chapter. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it and as usual sorry for the long delays in the updates. As for the story, I was wondering what you guys think of the family time I add for Nala, Simba and their cubs? Should I add anything else? And are there any other families that you are interested in knowing more about?**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed and please do review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the next chapter and thanks for the reviews last chapter. I know I've been promising to do the replies to the reviews for the last few chapters but me kind of lost track of them. So for the next chapter, I'll do the review replies of the last chapter and this one.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy and please do review.**

While Nala was off looking for Simba, Simba was already past the border. He had already scoured as much as he could without finding anything but he knew that going any further alone was too risky.

Simba silently debated on asking Akila to come with him secretly but he knew that Akila and Nala were good friends and it might slip out. All that would come out of them was that Simba shouldn't go.

But he had to. Simba knew he just couldn't sit around and do nothing all day.

Soon Simba began to realize that there was no use in looking around. There was nothing here and he couldn't go further without someone else with him. With an irritated sigh, he began heading back home.

Little did Simba know that Scar was watching him from a good distance away.

"I could get him now." Scar said, clenching his teeth as he pondered over his opportunities. But Scar knew that that would be too easy. And even if he did take Simba know, Nala and Akila would both keep the Pride safe and secure along with support from Mufasa and the River Pride. They would be even more on alert if Simba was found dead and that would make things trickier for him.

Suddenly a thought hit Scar. He couldn't take over Simba's Pride by just taking Simba down. Simba and his throne was protected by a large number of other lions. He had to take them down first before he could get to Simba.

"It'll be worth it." Scar muttered before he turned and began the long journey back to his Pride.

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A few hours later, Simba was back in the Pridelands and Zazu had spotted him before reporting back to Nala. By now, Nala was irritated at her mate for leaving and not telling anyone.

"What's wrong?" Simba asked the minute he saw her. Simba nuzzled her cheek softly as he approached her but she didn't return his affection. "Nala?"

"Simba where were you?" Nala asked. "I've been looking for hours. Did you tell anyone before you left?" Her sapphire blue eyes pierced into Simba's amber red ones.

"I was at the border dealing with some herds." Simba said, hoping she wouldn't see the lie.

Nala raised her eyebrows at him. "I thought you were off today? And wouldn't Zazu have seen?"

"I gave Zazu the day off so he was probably relaxing instead of flying around the Pridelands." Simba shrugged. "Besides, I don't need Zazu for everything Nala."

"Simba…" Nala gave him a look.

"Nala." Simba smiled back at her mockingly.

Nala rolled her eyes at him before heading back to Priderock but she didn't protest as Simba pulled her in closer and nuzzled her neck. Nala smiled at him and licked his cheek before they headed back to Priderock. They bumped into Mufasa and Ajjali by the Waterhole. Simba didn't speak a word with him but Nala and Mufasa chatted for a few minutes before the couple continued making their way to Priderock.

When they reached Priderock, Nala walked ahead so she could go collect Kiara from Moraan and Tama. She never had to worry about leaving Kiara with anyone because she knew that her daughter wouldn't misbehave. Kiara trotted out of the den just as Simba climbed the last rock up to Priderock.

"Daddy!" Kiara hurled herself towards Simba. Simba chuckled at his youngest and gave her side a nuzzle. "Hey my little Princess. What have you been doing all day?"

"Play! Danyssa!" Kiara giggled batting his nose with her paws.

"Ah so you had fun playing with Danyssa." Simba licked the top of her head before picking Kiara up. He and Nala took Kiara back into the den.

"Kiara." Nala picked Kiara up and placed her in her paws. "It's time for your nap."

"No tired." Kiara babbled and squeezed out of her paws. She crawled back to Simba and climbed into his paws. Simba gently let Kiara gnaw at his paw. Nala knew that all three of her cubs ran back to Simba when it came to things like baths or naps. Simba was less firm and lighter on those sorts of things unlike Nala who was stricter with them. It drove Nala insane sometimes on how her mate would just laugh and let them fool off but Nala knew she could never stay mad at Simba.

"Simba." Nala looked at him. "Tell me where you went."

"I told you." Simba turned to face her. "I went to the border when I heard commotion from there."

"Why were you so far out near the border in the first place?" Nala asked.

"I was just walking and monitoring the Pridelands for a bit." Simba replied. Nala gave him a long hard look and Simba knew from her face that she still wasn't buying it.

"Look." Simba said just as she opened her mouth to protest. "I went to the border to deal with the herds. You can believe what you want to believe."

"What?" Nala asked narrowing her eyes at him giving him a cold look. Kiara noticed her mother's expression and her eyes went wide. She had never seen Nala looking angry like that. Usually her mother was always laughing and smiling.

"Mama?" Kiara asked, cocking her head but Nala didn't notice.  
"What do you mean I can believe what I want to believe. What do you think I'm thinking?" Nala demanded.

"I mean." Simba said raising his voice. "That you don't believe what I'm saying but I don't care. You can believe whatever you think of what I was doing but I was at the border!" Kiara turned to her father with a surprised squeak at his anger. Whenever Simba got angry, she would usually just cling onto her mother until it was over. Kiara batted Simba but he didn't notice.

"What do you think I'm thinking Simba?" Nala asked, her tone annoyed.

"I don't know." Simba said. "And I don't care!" He got up, catching Kiara before she could fall and put her back on the ground before he stormed out angrily. Kiara felt tears unlocking in her eyes as she turned towards her mother. She was scared at all the anger her parents were displaying.

Nala finally noticed how upset Kiara was.

"It's alright my little cub." Nala pulled Kiara into her paws and rocked her back and forth. "Daddy just got a little angry. He'll be back." Kiara just sniffed and wiped her face against Nala's chest. Nala cleaned her face up with a few licks.

"Come on." Nala soothed. "It's time for your nap." She nudged her cub down and Kiara didn't protest and she settled down snugly in her mother's paws. Within a few minutes, Kiara had dozed off.

Kion and Kopa bounded in and settled down when they saw that Kiara was napping.

"You weren't at the resting place for our feeding time Mom." Kopa said.

"I'm sorry my darlings." Nala nuzzled both of them. "I was a bit busy." Once she had fed both Kopa and Kion, Nala gave them permission to go out and play again. The twins sprinted out.

Nala settled her head down on top of Kiara hoping to sleep for a bit. She knew that Simba was lying onto her but she just couldn't figure out what he would do that she couldn't know about it. She felt a pang of annoyance and hurt go through her but she let it go. She trusted Simba. Just as she was getting drowsy she heard Simba coming back into the den. Simba settled down next to Nala and Kiara pulling both of them in close to him and Nala didn't protest. She knew she couldn't stay angry at him for long and Simba couldn't either. She buried her face into his neck and drifted off.

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Later that day, Kula and Chumvi were enjoying some time for themselves. Jasiri had asked to go to the River Pride in the morning and Chumvi had taken her there and would go back later to collect her.

"I was meaning to talk to you about this." Chumvi said after the two of them stopped to take a drink from the pond.

"What is it?" Kula asked, entwining her tail in his.

"It's…about…about Enye." Chumvi said his tone going down and he saw a flash of pain and Kula's eyes but she swallowed hard.

"What about him?" Kula asked.

"I know we never found a body or any proof." Chumvi said taking a deep breath. "But lately for the past few weeks…I just have this feeling that something about that isn't right…like there's something that we've missed. It's like the spirits above are trying to tell me something but I just don't know what."

"Chumvi." Kula said after a few moments of silent. "You know it's never going to feel right. Enye shouldn't have died at that age…" A sob escaped her and Chumvi pulled her in closer but Kula regained her composure.

"He shouldn't have died at that age and we never found a body. At the very least we could have gotten some sort of closure if we had found a body but we didn't." Kula said. "And…it's never going to feel right. Not until the day that I die and join him."

Chumvi wanted to say more but he could see how upset Kula was. He knew that deep down just like him, the grief of losing Enye had never left her. And it never would. Sometimes if he really thought about it, he wanted to kill himself so he could join Enye. But in the end, he always reminded himself that they still had Jasiri. And that made everything better.

"I know." Chumvi pulled her in closer and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Until the day we see him again."

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A few weeks later, Kopa and Kion were walking around the Pridelands bored out of their mind. Simba had finally agreed into letting them go further than the Waterhole and the two cubs had done all the exploring they could.

"Maybe we can go back and play with Kiara." Kion suggested, flopping onto his back.

"But what if she's sleeping?" Kopa asked. "Mom never lets us wake her up. Besides, she can be boring sometimes."

"Isn't Dad at home today?" Kion asked, rolling over. "I wanna go see if he can play."

"Yeah, I wanna ask him for more pouncing lessons." Kopa said sitting up straight.

"But we always have pouncing lessons with him or Mom." Kion protested. "I'm going to ask him if we can play tag."

"That's so boring!" Kopa huffed.

"No it's not!" Kion said narrowing his sapphire blue eyes. "It's fun!"

"Is not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No its not!"

"Who said?"

"I'm older than you so I know more!"

"Only by two minutes!" Kion exclaimed. "Mom said!" Kopa only puffed his chest out proudly.

"Well then too bad!" Kion said. "I'm going to go find him right now!" He turned and ran back to Priderock and Kopa didn't bother following.

Kion ran as fast as he could to Priderock, trying not to stop. By the time he got there, he was out of breath and staggered up the rocks. He was glad to hear his father's voice in the big den along with Akila's.

"Dad!" Kion ran into the den and skidded underneath Akila's legs before he crashed into Simba.

Simba gently used his paw to scoop him up. "What's wrong son?"

"Can you play with me Dad? Please?" Kion asked, looking up with a grin. Simba smiled.

"Why're you all out of breath Kion?" Akila asked.

"I had to run here and beat Kopa." Kion said.

"Where is he?" Simba asked.

"I don't know. He probably went to play with someone else." Kion said. "But can you play with me Dad?"

"Of course." Simba said and trotted out of the den.

"By Uncle!" Kion called over his shoulder.

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Meanwhile, Kopa had decided to venture further into the Pridelands and find someone else to play with. Before he realized it, he saw the two flower trees that his parent had told him not to go past unless he was with an adult.

"I wonder what's there anyway." Kopa muttered. He knew that Simba and Kion were probably playing now and he couldn't find any of his other friends to play with. It was too late in the day to go visit the River Pride.

" _I can just go see what's there. Mom's probably busy and Dad's with Kion so he won't notice. I can just go and come back fast. I haven't been there a lot so there's probably a lot of exploring that I can do."_ Kopa thought and without hesitation he had trotted past the trees and further into the Pridelands.

Before Kopa knew it, he had reached the border. He recognized it from the numerous times he father and uncles had taken him patrolling with them.

Suddenly, Kopa heard a snap and he turned around to see a cub. Gasping, Kopa jumped away.

"Who are you?" The cub asked, cocking his head. The cub was grey and filthy but he looked older than Kopa, almost in his adolescence.

Kopa found his strength. "Prince Kopa of the Pridelands! Who are you Outlander!" He crouched down and began advancing on the cub despite him being much smaller than the Outlander cub.

"Hey!" The cub began moving back. "I'm not going to cause any trouble! I just wanted to see the Pridelands!"

"Why?" Kopa asked, his voice still a growl.

"Because I live in the Outlands." The cub said shrugging his shoulder sadly. "I've never seen so much green in my whole life. The Outlands are a barren desert."

"Oh." Kopa relaxed, feeling sorry for him. He knew he was lucky to be born in a big healthy Pride. His parent's constantly reminded him that there were others who were not as fortunate as him.

"Want me to show you around then?" Kopa asked his voice much friendlier. Kopa knew that it was his father who decided if someone from the Outlands could come into the Pridelands.

" _But I'm the future King."_ Kopa reminded himself. Besides, his parents always told him to remember those who weren't as lucky as him. By showing Nuka around, he would be doing what his parents always told him to do.

"Alright." The cub relaxed. "Are we allowed?"

"I don't know." Kopa shrugged with a mischievous grin. "But don't worry, I'll make sure that we won't get caught."

"Alright!" The bigger cub bounded forward. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Kopa called. "What's your name?"

"Nuka." The cub replied. "My name is Nuka." He gave Kopa a friendly smile.

"Alright Nuka!" Kopa grinned. "Let's go!"

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A few hours later, Kion was all tuckered out from playing with Simba.

"Tired Kion?" Simba asked as Kion flopped onto his back beside Simba.

"Yeah." Kion said with a yawn. "Can we go back to Priderock now Dad?"

"Sure." Simba said. Kion crawled onto his back and Simba got up and began heading back home. He had enjoyed playing with Kion. He didn't get to play with his cubs as often as he would like to so the times that he did meant a lot to him.

"Too bad Kopa missed out." Kion said, breaking Simba away from his thoughts.

"Yeah." Simba said. "Are you still mad at him?"

"Kind of." Kion shrugged. "He always wins an argument by saying he's older than me!"

Simba laughed remembering how he had always said that same thing to Akila when they had been cubs. And then both of them had used it on Ajjali when she had been born.

When they reached Priderock, Nala was at the entrance of the den waiting for them. Kiara was behind her playing with her mother's tail.

"Hey Mom!" Kion rolled off Simba's back and nuzzled his mother's chin. Nala licked the top of his head.

"Hello sweetheart." Nala nuzzled him. "Where have you been all day?"

"I was playing with Kopa and then I went to play with Dad." Kion said. Kiara came over and tackled him down and he growled playfully before pinning his little sister down. Kiara fell down with a squeak.

"Where's Kopa now?" Nala asked. "Why didn't he join you two?"

"I don't know." Kion shrugged and chased Kiara into the den. She ran in squealing.

"They got into a fight." Simba said. "Kopa's still out playing."

Nala looked worried. "Maybe we should go look for him."

"The sun hasn't begun to set yet." Simba said. "Kopa's come back later than this. If he isn't back by the time the sun starts setting, I'll go look for him. But I'll go tell Zazu to fly around the area he plays in and look for him now." Nala nodded, but she couldn't ignore the strange feeling left in her stomach.

She went back into the den and cleaned Kion up and fed both the cubs. By then, the sun was beginning to set and Simba walked into the den with Alex and Akila behind him.

"Zazu came back and said Kopa's not anywhere around the boundaries we set for him." Simba said, his face worried. "I'm worried that he went further past the limits we set him." Kion listened intently to the adults.

"No." Nala said shaking her head. "He's never done that!" A deep cold ball of fear formed in her stomach as she thought of her son.

"We're going to look for him now." Akila said. "We'll get Tojo and a few other males. Kopa just might have gotten distracted so we don't want to alert the entire Pride. If he's not back by the time the sun's completely set, we can organize the Pride into search parties."

Nala nodded. "Alright. I'm coming too."

"Nala stay with Kion and Kiara. We'll bring him back I promise!" Simba stepped forward and nuzzled Nala. Nala nodded and Simba walked out with Alex and Akila.

"Nala?" Nala turned to see Tama, Kula, and Shari and Shinda. Malaika and Shani were behind them.

"I heard what happened." Tama nuzzled her. "They'll find him don't worry!"

"Moraan, Chumvi and Amri went as well." Shinda said. "One of them is bound to find him."

"He's never done this before…" Nala said. "What could have possibly made him go further than what Simba and I set out for him?"

Suddenly they heard a sob from behind Nala and the lionesses turned to see Kion bawling while Kiara was looking at her older brother alarmed.

"Kion what's wrong?" Malaika nuzzled her nephew, licking away his tears.

"I got in a fight with Kopa and he wouldn't come back to Priderock with me!" Kion sobbed between hiccups. "It-it's m-my fault he-he got lo-lost!"

"Kion!" Nala picked him up and nuzzled him, trying to soothe him. "It's not your fault. Kopa knew what the rules are." Kion nodded, burying his face into Nala's chest.

"Come on." Shari gently ushered Kion into the big den. "Let's play go play with Haru."

Kiara trotted over to Shinda and pulled on her aunt's leg. Shinda bent down and nuzzled her.

"Kopa?" Kiara asked cocking her head. She wasn't quite sure what was going on but she knew it had something to do with Kopa.

"Kiara, Danyssa wants to play with you." Tama said. "Let's go!" She picked Kiara up and carried her into the big den.

"I can't wait any longer." Nala moaned, closing her eyes. "I have to go look for him myself."

"Nala." Shani stepped in front of her cousin. "Wait until Simba comes back. Follow his plans." She knew Nala's entire life revolved around her cubs so it was hard for her wait and see if Kopa was with the males. But they had to follow the plan Simba had left them.

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Meanwhile, Kopa and Nuka were finally done exploring. Kopa knew it was late and that his parents would worry but he felt bad for Nuka. He had wanted to see as much of the Pridelands as possible.

Besides, he had enjoyed playing with Nuka. He was more fun to play with than Kion.

"So where you going to go now Nuka?" Kopa asked. "Back to your Pride?"

"I guess." Nuka said with a sigh. "I have to go find my Dad now."

"Oh." Kopa said. "Isn't he going to be worried about you now?"

"Nah." Nuka shrugged. "My Dad doesn't like me."

"Why not?" Kopa asked.

"I wish I knew." Nuka lowered his head. Kopa felt a pang go through his heart. He couldn't imagine his life without Simba. Another reason why he was so blessed.

"I should go now." Nuka said. "Thanks for showing me around the Pridelands."

"No problem." Kopa said. "Are you going to come again?"

"If I can I…" Nuka's voice trailed off and his eyes went wide looking past Kopa.

"What?" Kopa asked.

Before Nuka could reply, Simba stepped out of the bushes and let out an ear splitting roar at Nuka.

 **Sorry for such long waits for the chapters. School and work have been keeping me busy. Anyways, so Nuka had a little run in with Kopa but too bad Simba caught him before he could leave. What's going to happen next? Stay tuned to find out.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to all those who reviewed the last few chapter, I really appreciate it. And here are the responses to the reviews for the past two chapters.**

 **Doclover: Thanks for the review. As for the issues with the years, I personally don't like the idea of having my stories with them being adults at two years old just because i feel like that's way to short of a time to grow up. But I do understand your point though. Thanks again for your continued reviews and support.**

 **TMNTTLK lover: It's been quite a while lol. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

 **BlackLouie: I don't want to spoil anything for you. Just keep reading to find out :). Thanks for the reviews and your continued support.**

 **Jestainaker94000: Thanks for the review! I also like the fact that their growing up together rather than with a big age difference between them. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

 **RogueRaven18: Thank you for both the reviews! Do you mean that you want more little stories and scenes between Simba, Nala and their cubs? If that is the case, I'd love to add a couple more. Just let me know in a review! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Guys, I know that I haven't done review replies in quite a while and that I miss out quite a few chapters. I'm sorry if I missed anyone's reviews. If there are any problems or questions, feel free to tell me in a PM or review.**

Nuka shook with fright as Simba loomed over at him. He wasn't sure who this lion was until Kopa spoke out.

"Dad?!" Kopa exclaimed. "He-" Nuka realized that the lion was Kopa's father.

"Silence!" Simba snapped at him before turning his attention to Nuka.

"Who are you and where do you come from?" Simba asked his voice rough. He knew he was only a cub but he knew if there was a cub there were bound to be adults. And with the threat of Scar these days he had been extra cautious and wouldn't take any chances.

"I…I…came with my Dad and a few others from my Pride…" Nuka said, shaking with fright.

"Who's your father and your Pride? And why are you here?" Simba demanded.

" My Pride is a couple hours away from here. I...my dad always comes from our Pride and stays here for a day sometimes. I-I..I don't know why. But I came with him today." Nuka stammered.

Simba arched his eyebrow. Why would someone come all the way from their Pride to stay here in the Outlands?

"What's your father's name?" Simba asked. He had a good idea as to where this was leading too.

"Scar." Nuka replied, his ears still folded down with fright.

Simba felt a cold ball in his stomach. If Scar was Nuka's father then from what Nuka told him, Scar often came to the borders near the Pridelands.

"Why does your father always come here?" Simba asked. He needed to gain as much information as possible.

"I don't know." Nuka said. "He just comes here once in a while and I don't know why. But he let me come along for the first time today." Simba nodded, Scar was definitely planning something.

"Is anyone else with him when he comes?" Simba asked.

"Sometimes. Today, another one of his friends came." Nuka replied.

Simba gave Nuka a long look. This was Scar's cub playing with his son. There was no way that Simba would allow for this to continue.

"Does he know that you're here?" Simba asked. Nuka shook his head.

"Very well then." Simba said, his tone lighter. "Thank you for answering my questions but I do not tolerate anyone here unless they are part of the Pride. So you must leave."

Nodding, Nuka gave Kopa another glance before running off as fast as he could.

Simba turned to a nervous looking Kopa.

"Give me one good reason why you're here." Simba said narrowing his eyes at him. Never mind the issue about Nuka and Scar for now. Right now he had to deal with Kopa.

"I…I…" Kopa was too scared to speak.

"We can talk at home." Simba turned and left and Kopa trotted along hurriedly to keep up. When they neared the Waterhole the sun had set completely and the stars were beginning to come out. Simba stopped and faced Kopa.

"Alright." Simba said his voice angry."Talk to me. Why were you at the border?"

"I…I saw Nuka and we decided to play…" Kopa murmured, folding his ears down.

"Why were you at the border in the first place?" Simba asked, narrowing his eyes. "Thats what I'm most angry about."

"Kion wouldn't play with me so I went to find someone else to play with and I went past the boundaries because I couldn't find anyone else." Kopa said. "Then I went to the borders and I saw Nuka and I felt bad for him because he said he's never seen so much green before because he lived in the Outlands. And you and Mom are always telling me how lucky I am so I offered to show him around."

"Kopa…" Simba sucked his breath in. "You knew very well that you weren't allowed to go past the boundaries! This is exactly why. Rogues like Nuka can be very dangerous. I know he's just a cub but his family was just beyond the border. If they had seen you they could have hurt you!"

"But I didn't think-" Kopa tried talking but Simba cut him off.

"And none of this would have happened if you had just listened to what we told you and stayed within the borders!" Simba said raising his voice. "This is exactly why we set out these rules for you!"

Kopa felt tears unlocking in his eyes and he nodded with a sniff.

Simba's expression softened a bit. He knew it was only cub curiosity that had led Kopa into breaking the rules. But he couldn't help but think what would have happened if he hadn't got there in time. What is Scar had seen Kopa? He silently shuddered at that thought.

"Kopa, I'm angry at you because I was scared that something might have happened to you." Simba said his voice more gentle. "We set out these rules because we want you to be safe. If something happens to you, I don't know what your mother and I would do." Bending down, he pulled Kopa in closer and rubbed his cheek against him. Kopa returned his affection.

"Come on." Simba gently gave him a bump with his head. "Let's go home."

When they reached Priderock the rest of the males had returned already after being told that Kopa had been found by Zazu. Nala was waiting anxiously at the base of Priderock.

"Kopa!" Nala pulled him in closer, nuzzling and licking him checking to make sure he hadn't been hurt. Kopa silently enjoyed Nala's affection after all day and let her cover him in licks and nuzzles.

"What were you doing by the border?" Nala asked, still holding onto him.

"I was bored…and I found an Outlander cub to play with…" Kopa said sheepishly. Nala's eyes went wide and Simba gave her a little nudge, telling her was okay.

"You are not to do that again?" Nala said firmly. "Understand?" Kopa nodded.

"Good." Simba gave him another warm nuzzle along with Nala.

"Now go up to the den. Kion and Kiara are waiting for you." Nala said. "Dad and I will be there shortly." Kopa nodded and bounded up the steps to Priderock.

"What happened?" Nala asked turning to her mate. Simba explained the whole thing and Nala's eyes went wide.

"Thank the spirits above that you got there in time." Nala said."If Scar had seen them…" Her voice trailed off unable to finish the sentence.

"I know." Simba's voice was gentle. "But he's okay. And that's all that really matters to me right now." Nala nuzzled him and Simba held her in closer gently licking her cheek before the two of them went inside the den to join their cubs.

Back in the den, Kion was trying to get Kopa to tell him what had happened.

"Come on Kopa!" Kion exclaimed jumping on him. "Why can't you tell me?!"

"Because I don't want to." Kopa said rolling out from under him.

"Tell me Kopa!" Kiara giggled latching onto her oldest brother.

"Let go Kiara!" Kopa laughed gently shaking himself free of her. Kiara huffed and sat back down.

"Why can't…" Kion began to ask but then went silent as he heard Simba and Nala coming back into the den.

"I thought Kiara was asleep." Nala said smiling at her. Kiara only gave her mother a wide grin before Nala picked her up and settled down.

"Come on." Simba nudged Kion and Kopa towards Nala. "Time to sleep." Nala pulled both of them in closer to her and the twins buried themselves into Nala's fur.

"Not tired." Kiara squeaked squeezing herself out Nala's paws and climbed onto Simba's head.

Simba grinned and used his paw to pull Kiara back down. "Aren't you tired?" He tickled Kiara's belly with his nose and the cub laughed.

"Come on Kiara." Simba said. "Daddy's tired." He put Kiara at the side of his face and wrapped her in his paw so she wouldn't be able to escape. A small yawn escaped Kiara's mouth and she settled down. Nala rested her head on the other side of Simba's shoulder with the twins between them. Within minutes, the royal family was asleep.

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Meanwhile, Nuka was trailing after Scar on their long walk home. Scar had sent the other lionesses ahead of him and now it was just him and Nuka.

"Dad?" Nuka asked nervously.

"What is it?" Scar asked not stopping.

"Um…have you seen the Pridelands before?" Nuka asked. He didn't know whether he should tell Scar about the incident with Simba and Kopa.

"Why?" Scar's voice was gruff as he trudged along not seeming tired at all.

"I…well I…I went…" Nuka felt a cold ball in his stomach as Scar stopped and turned around narrowing his eyes at him.

"Did you go into the Pridelands?" Scar hissed clenching his teeth. "After I specifically told you not to?"

"I…" Nuka was trembling.

"Answer me!" Scar roared."Did you go?"

Nuka only meekly nodded.

"What were you doing there?" Scar growled doing all he could to refrain from striking Nuka.

"I met…I met Prince Kopa." Nuka whispered tears forming in his eyes. "And he showed me around the Pridelands."

Scar closed his eyes dreading the answer. "Did Simba see you?"

Nuka nodded and Scar felt red rage pouring down on him.

"You foolish cub!" Scar roared slamming his paw down on Nuka. "I very specifically told you not to go because SImba would see you!"

"He didn't see me until the end!" Nuka cried tears streaming down his eyes. "We didn't think he would show up."

"And thats the exact problem with you!" Scar snarled. "You're weak and you don't think! What did he say?"

"He asked me questions." Nuka mumbled.

"Like what?"

"He asked me where I was from, who you were, and why we come here…" Nuka replied shaking with fright.

"And you answered them didn't you…" Scar said his voice ice cold.

"Dad I was scared!" Nuka cried. "He wouldn't let me go until I answered! I thought he would hurt me if I didn't answer them! I-" That was all Nuka managed to get out before Scar's paw slammed down on him sending him flying.

Moaning Nuka got up, feeling blood trickle down his cheek from where Scar had struck him.

"Keep up." Scar growled dangerously and began walking away at a brisk pace. Sobbing quietly to himself, Nuka hurried behind him.

TLKTLKTLTLTLKTLKTLKTLK

The next morning, Kopa got up with his siblings as their mother led them down to the to the Waterhole for a drink. Looking around, he remembered how Nuka had told him how barren the Outlands were and how they barely had anything to eat or drink.

Kopa stared at the sparkling blue Waterhole. They had more than enough to share. Why couldn't they?

"Kopa are you coming?" Nala called. Kopa turned around to see that Kion and Kiara had already run ahead while Nala was patiently waiting for him.

"Yeah." Kopa said trotting back to Priderock.

"Is Dad busy Mom?" Kopa asked as Nala slowed down so he could keep up.

"No he isn't." Nala nuzzled him. "Maybe you should take this opportunity to play with him today. He's probably waiting for you three back at Priderock now."

"Alright." Kopa said. He felt another pang going through his heart as he remembered how Nuka had said that his own father didn't like him.

His thought were interrupted as Nala picked him up. She quickened her pace to keep Kion and Kiara in her view. Kopa jumped down when they reached Priderock and ran to the resting place with Nala following him to find Kion, Kiara and Vijay with Akila and Simba. He bounded towards them.

"I hope you two are taking the cubs for the day." Nala said approaching them with a smile at Akila and Simba.

"Just me." Akila grinned. "I'm taking Vijay to the pond if these three want to come." He looked at his nephews and nieces.

"Yeah I wanna go." Kion said.  
"Me too." Kopa nodded.

"Kiara?" Simba asked. "Are you going with Uncle Akila?" But Kiara was already trotting off to where Jasiri was playing with Danyssa. Nala nuzzled the cubs and followed Kiara.

"Let's go!" Vijay said. He pounced on Kion tackling him down before he ran off. Kion growled playfully and chased after Vijay and Kopa ran after them.

"Have fun." Simba smirked at Akila who grinned at him before Simba went to join Nala and Kiara.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

A while later at the pond, Kopa was tired and hot from playing.

"Come into the water Kopa!" Vijay and Kion dragged him in and Kopa splashed around for a bit.

"It feel's so good." Kion grinned laying on his back. Vijay jumped on him and both of them splashed around in the water.

"How come it doesn't rain that much in the Outlands?" Kopa asked suddenly.

Akila looked a bit surprised at his question. "It does rain. But the Outlands are mostly just a barren desert so no plants can grow from the rain."

"And that's why theres no animals?" Vijay asked sitting up. "Because there's no plants for animals to eat."

Akila nodded. "It's not easy living in the Outlands."

"So how about the ones that do live in the Outlands?" Kopa asked. "What about them?"

"They can live there Kopa." Akila said. "it's just very hard." Kopa nodded going quiet while Kion and Vijay continued to send waves of water at each other.

"Kopa." Akila picked him up and placed him back on the grass beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong Uncle." Kopa said. Akila arched his eyebrow at him and Kopa gave him grin.

"Alright then…" Akila said mischeviously. "If you're not gonna tell me looks like I'll have to force it out of you." Without a warning, he grabbed Kopa and began tickling him and Kopa laughed.

"Uncle!" Kopa gasped out laughing. "Let go!"

Akila smiled."Alright. What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong." Kopa repeated with a grin.

"Akila?" Kopa and Akila turned to the left to see Malaika walking towards them.

"Hi Auntie." Kopa nuzzled Malaika and she gave the side of his head a lick.

"Nala told me that you would be here." Malaika said settling down.

Vijay bounded out of the water. "Hey Mom!" He rubbed his cheek against Malaika's and Malaika returned her son's affection.

"Kopa here won't tell me his little secret that he's been holding in." Akila grinned rubbing the top of Kopa's head, purposely messing up Kopa's brown tuft of hair.

"Uncle!" Kopa cried trying to smooth it back down. Malaika chuckled and licked the top of his head smoothing Kopa's mane hair back down.

"I have to get back to Priderock soon." Malaika said getting up. "There's a hunt."

"Can I come back with you Auntie?" Kopa asked and Malaika nodded and they began heading back to Priderock.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Later that night, Kopa was playing at the Pride's resting place with Jasiri before she had gone into the den. Seeing that there were still plenty of adults around, Kopa gazed over the Pridelands from his perch on a rock.

"Kopa?" Kopa turned to see Simba heading towards him.

"Hi Dad." Kopa nuzzled Simba and he returned his affection.

"Uncle Akila told me that something was bothering you today." Simba said."What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Kopa insisted. He didn't feel like telling his father about what he thought about Nuka.

"Kopa…" Simba looked at him. "You know you can tell me. I won't get mad."

Kopa looked up at his father's loving eyes. He knew he could tell Simba anything and that he would understand. Kopa loved his father. He was one of the most important lions in his life. He remembered how Nuka had said that his own father hated him. That wasn't fair at all.

"Dad how come Outlanders can't come into the Pridelands?" Kopa asked. Simba looked a bit surprise at his question.

"Because the Pridelands can't support everyone Kopa." Simba said gently. "The one way that the Pridelands can continue to provide for us is if we know how much we can take."

"But that's not fair for those who live in the Outlands." Kopa frowned.

"I know." Simba said with a small sigh. "But when you grow up you'll learn that you can't help everyone. As King my job is to take care of our Pride and our Pridelands. I can't help everyone out there. Yes we do take in rogues sometimes. But if we took every single rogue into the Pridelands, we would run out of food and water."

"But why can't we take Nuka into the Pridelands?" Kopa burst out. "He's all alone in the Outlands. He said his family doesn't even care about him! That's not fair!"

Simba looked at him for a minute before he spoke.

"Kopa, I know that Nuka is your friend. But you haven't known him for long so you don't know if he's telling you the truth or not. And I don't want you playing with him ever again. Besides, like I said we can't help everyone Kopa. I know it doesn't seem fair but that's how it is. That's why your mother and I always tell you how lucky you are to have been born here. There are others who aren't as lucky as you" Simba said.

Kopa looked a bit upset with the answer he had received and Simba pulled him in closer.

"You'll understand someday. Especially when you and Kion are the Kings of the Pridelands. I'll teach you both. I promise." Simba said, pulling Kopa in closer to him. He licked the top of Kopa's head before both of them headed into the den.

A few days later, Simba was bringing Kiara back to Priderock when Akila approached the two of them.

"Uncle Akila!" Kiara squealed and clung onto his paw. Smiling, Akila bent down and licked her forehead before turning back to Simba.

"There's been something I've been meaning to tell you." Akila said. "After you told me what happened with Scar, Nuka and Kopa, I got Zazu to send some of his flyers into the Outlands."

"Without telling me?" Simba asked, raising his eyebrow suspiciously at Akila.

"Yeah." Akila nodded. "And I got them to contact some other Prides and ask them if Scar patrolled their borders as well. All of them hadn't seen him anywhere. So that means he only does it to us."

"Akila…" Simba said a bit angry. "You can't just send messengers into other Pride's without telling me."

"I have just as much of a right as you do Simba. Besides, you aren't really doing anything either. Scar might have seen Kopa that day by the border and all your saying is that we'll be prepared for a fight?"

"I know what I'm doing Akila!" Simba snapped. "What to do with Scar is my concern not yours! You had no right to go send flyers without telling me!"

"Yes I do!" Akila said raising his voice. "I do just as much as you do but I don't get the credit for anything do I? I'm the one who stepped up for you when you ran away with Nala and I helped prepare the Pride for war. You came back and I let you take the title of the King again! I did that all for you so I have every single right to send those flyers!"

Kiara mewed, scared of the tension between her father and uncle but both of them didn't notice her.

"Look-" Simba growled but Akila cut off.

"Scar isn't getting ready for a war Simba. He's doing something else and I can just feel it. If he had been preparing for war, he would be with his Pride the whole time getting ready with them. If they were really out for war, they would have attacked by now or done something to provoke another war." Akila warned. "And you can deny it but I can tell you also know that there's something bigger going on." He saw something flash in Simba's eyes and he knew that he was right.

"Alright then." Simba snapped. "What do you want me to do?"

Kiara squeaked and batted at her father's paws but Simba only bent down and gave her a quick nuzzle before turning his attention back to Akila.

"Send a messenger into Scar's Pride. Demand him to tell us what he's doing." Akila said.

"Your out of your mind!" Simba snapped. "That would be encouraging a war between us!"

"And you literally just said that we're going to be prepared for a fight!" Akila exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter!" Simba nearly shouted."I'm not going to encourage a fight between the two of our Pride's!"

"There's bound to be a fight anyways!" Akila growled. "Get your head out of the clouds and start doing your job! Your the King! Do your job!"

"I know what I'm doing Akila!" Simba shouted. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Avila growled at Simba and was about to shout back when Mufasa and Sarabi hurried up to them.

"What in the name of the spirits above is going on between you two?" Sarabi asked looking between her two sons. She noticed Kiara clinging onto Simba's paw and she shook her head.

"Both of you should know better than to fight in front of the cubs!" Sarabi scolded and pulled Kiara in close to her and she gently ran her tongue along her back comforting the little cub.

"What happened? I could hear Simba shouting from the bottom of Priderock."Mufasa asked.

"It doesn't really matter what happened." Simba said. "Just tell Akila that I know what I'm doing as King! He thinks it his job to take care of things that I tell him not to do!" He shot his brother another glare before storming off.

"Akila," Mufasa turned to his youngest son. "What happened?"

"I sent messengers into the Outlands to ask some other Pride's if Scar ever patrolled their borders. They said no and that means that he only does it to us." Akila replied.

"Did you tell Simba that you were going to do it?" Sarabi asked and Akila shook his head.

"Akila that's not your job or place to be doing something like that. Yes you are second in command to Simba but everything you do Simba must know first. I taught you two to work along side each other not against each other." Mufasa said his voice a bit stern.

"Dad, Simba's not doing anything about the matter. He's just waiting until Scar attack but I don't think that's what Scar wants to do. If he did want to wage war, he would have done so by now. He's doing something bigger than that and I just know it." Akila protested.

"No Akila." Mufasa said. "You don't have a right to make that call, that's Simba's job especially with a matter as serious as this."

"He's not doing anything!" Akila shouted.

"Simba isn't looking for a fight." Mufasa said. "And I would be doing the same thing if I were him. You don't have a right to go behind his back. Simba's made the right decisions in the past and I trust that he will with this as well."

Akila felt himself getting angrier by the minute. Simba always got the credit no matter how much Akila did!

"… _you step down and let Simba take the credit."_ Hasira's words from a year or two ago echoed in Akila's head and he felt a rush of jealous flow through him. Hasira was right!

"Simba? I wonder who got the entire Pride ready for war when Simba wasn't around! Or the one who helped you get the Pride back together after the war when Simba was depressed! Simba ran away from the Pridelands when we needed him the most and I was the one there for the Pride! But you don't remember any of that, do you?!" Akila snapped.

"Akila, that's not what I meant-" Mufasa began but Akila just turned around and stormed away.

 **There was more but I didn't want to spoil to much so I just left it here. I'll try updating as soon as I can which shouldn't be too hard because I haven't started school yet. I also know that this story is going a bit slow and the plot is taking forever to unveil, but I do have my motives for that and I don't want to rush the story line. Anyways, looks like Akila is getting a bit jealous when he's starting to realize that he really doesn't get credit for anything and Simba does seem to act like he has everything in control. What happens next? Stay updated to find out. Please read and review, it helps me stay motivated to keep writing for you guys.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to RoguesRaven18, BlackLouie, Doclover and TMNTTLKlover for reviewing the last chapter. I really do appreciate it.**

Growling angrily, Akila continued into the den where he saw Malaika dozing lightly. At the sound of her mate, she raised her head but looked surprised at how angry Akila was.

"Akila?" Malaika asked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't get credit for anything no matter how much I do for this damn Pride! Simba sits around and lets me do the work then he takes the credit!" Akila exclaimed.

"Did you two get into a fight?" Malaika asked and Akila nodded still seething.

"What really makes me mad that even my father doesn't care to recognize how much work I do!" Akila growled. "All he thinks is that Simba does the right thing all the time."

"What did Simba do?" Malaika asked, rubbing her cheek against Akila in attempt to get him to calm down. Akila relaxed and took a deep breathe before speaking.

"Simba's not doing anything about the threat from Scar but he's just waiting for Scar to wage war." Akila began. "But I know that war isn't what Scar's looking for, he's coming for something else thats much bigger. I just know it. And besides, if he had wanted war he would have attacked already. But Simba's just standing back and doing nothing. He won't let me do anything either. And I know very well that in the end, he'll mess up like always and I'll fix everything like always but as usual Simba will get the credit for it."

"First of all, I need you to relax." Malaika said nuzzling his cheek with her nose. "And second, I need you to know that I've always known it was you, not Simba." She smiled as Akila pulled her face in closer and lovingly licked her cheek. Purring, Malaika rubbed her muzzle against his for a minute before they pulled back.

"And you also have to know that the others know as well." Malaika said. "Nala's always talking about how much you help and how much you've done for both of them. And a lot of our friends like Chumvi, Tama and all the others know that it was you not Simba who held the Pride together before and after the war."

"I guess." Akila sighed. "I just wish I would get some more recognition. And I don't really know what to do about this situation. Simba and I don't really fight a lot. I don't like fighting with him either."

"He'll forget about it." Malaika assured resting her head on his shoulder. Akila nodded before resting his head in his paws for a nap. Malaika settled down close to him and she chuckled shaking her head seeing Akila worried about one fight with his brother whereas she and her siblings had fought constantly when they had been young.

 _Flashback_

" _Shinda!" Malaika cried. "It's my turn to go!"_

" _No it's not!" Shinda argued. "You always go. Tojo and I are going this time!"_

 _Shani had severely sprained her foreleg and had been knocked in the head by a baby zebra while she was practicing hunting a few days ago and Rafiki had confined Shani to the den for about a month while her leg healed and head healed. Along with that, she had developed a fever so she napped as much as she could. Kudeka had asked Malaika, Shinda and Tojo each to stay with Shani while the adults were busy so Shani wouldn't be alone in case she needed anything. And now the young adolescents were arguing on who's turn it was to watch Shani._

" _I always stay with Shani." Shinda said looking over at the sleeping form of her younger sister. "But I need a break now."_

" _No!" Malaika said narrowing her eyes._

" _Yes!" Tojo said growling and leaning into her. When Malaika shrank back, he stepped back and started lauging. Malaika felt frustrated at her older siblings. All of them were in their adolescence now and with Shinda and Tojo being a few years older than her, she could see the size difference between the three of them. Especially Tojo with his mane slowly growing in. It wasn't much yet, just some along his back and chest and a lot more on his head. But it would be full in a few years._

" _Well we're going." Shinda said turning to leave with Tojo._

" _No!" Malaika exclaimed. "That's not fair!" She pounced on the twins and with Malaika's weight, Tojo and Shinda fell down._

" _Malaika!" Tojo exclaimed. "What're you doing?! Get off!"_

" _No!" Malaika said pulling at his ear. "I want to go play with my friends too!"_

" _Someone has to watch Shani." Shinda said squeezing out from under leaving Tojo still under Malaika._

" _What're you three doing?" All three of them looked up to see Kudeka standing in front of them with their part of the kill in her jaws._

" _Hey Mom!" Shinda smiled. "Tojo and I want a break but Malaika won't let us."_

" _I always watch Shani!" Malaika exlciamed. "I wanna go too!"_

" _Doesn't matter now." Kudeka said with a smile at her cubs, setting their portion of the kill in front of the three. "It's time to eat now!" She nudged Shinda and Tojo towards the kill and they immediately began to eat along with Malaika._

 _Kudeka settled down next to Shani and gently nuzzled her face against hers to wake her up._

" _How're you feeling darling?" Kudeka asked, licking her forehead when Shani's eyes fluttered open._

" _My head still hurts." Shani murmured trying to raise her head to eat but Kudeka gently pushed her down. Shinda and Tojo ripped off a large portion of the kill for Shani and gently dragged it close enough so Shani could eat without raising her head._

" _But that's your portion of the kill." Shani tried protesting seeing that her older brother and sister had given her some of their part as well._

" _We can eat after." Tojo assured and Shinda nodded settling by Shani as she ate._

 _Tojo settled by Kudeka and he cringed when she began cleaning his face but by now he knew better than to run away like he had when he had been a cub. Kudeka chuckled at her son._

" _What were you three arguing about?" Kudeka asked._

" _Tojo and I were with Shani all day before Malaika came. And then we wanted to go and play with our friends but Malaika kept insisting that she wanted to come even though we told her just to wait until the adults came back from the hunt." Shinda said grooming herself._

" _But you always go Shinda!" Malaika protested._

" _Malaika." Kudeka said. "You know Shinda spends a lot of her time with Shani." She raised her eyebrows at her youngest daughter and Malaika lowered her head._

" _If Shinda and Tojo had wanted to go, you should have let them." Kudeka said. "Shinda spends most her time with Shani, much more than you do. Neither does she complain about it. Besides she only asked you to stay until the adults returned."_

 _Malaika sighed. "Sorry Shinda." Shinda only sent her a smug look that she saw Tojo grinning at._

" _You two can go now." Kudeka said nuzzling Shinda and Tojo. "I'm going to stay with Shani." Shinda looked a bit surprised at the fact that for once their mother hadn't taken Malaika's side but she didn't protest as she got up with a happy smile._

" _Alright." Shinda nuzzled Shani who had settled her head in Kudeka's paws before she bounded out with Tojo._

 _End of flashback_

Malaika smiled gently, that had been one of the few arguments that Kudeka hadn't taken her side on when they had been younger, before the war and before they had all thought Shinda was dead.

Although Malaika wasn't very connected with her oldest siblings, now that she was a mother, she did feel bad for the way that her older siblings especially Shinda had to grow up. Not that Kudeka had completely openly favoured her, but even then she noted the difference between the way that she was raised up and the way that Shani, Shinda and Tojo grew up. Although Kudeka had been a wonderful mother to them, she did seem to prefer time with Hariku and Malaika and then later on, Zuri and Anjani.

Malaika knew that her mother only wanted to enjoy her new life with her new mate after going through so much trouble with her father, losing her mother and losing her first mate. Malaika strongly believed that her mother did deserve to find happiness and be happy with her newfound family but Shani, Shinda and Tojo had taken the effect of it.

She had grown up the way that her mother had wanted all her daughters to grow up. Kudeka had been proud of Malaika for fulfilling her wishes and Malaika knew that she had been proud of Shani as well for growing up the way that Kudeka hoped she would. Of course she had been a bit too like her older siblings, something that Kudeka didn't like but other than that, Shani had made Kudeka happy.

But Shinda hadn't bothered even listening to Kudeka and now that Malaika thought about it, she wondered if it had been because Shinda was angry at their mother or just because Shinda was too stubborn and rebellious. Malaika figured it had been both but particularly because she was angry at Kudeka.

She remembered returning late to Priderock one night to hear Shinda and Tojo talking.

" _I don't see why Mom has any right to tell me what to do like that." Shinda had said. "All she ever did was ignore what I need."_

" _I know." Tojo had said. "But Shinda you have to listen to her. She's our mother and she's going to get madder at you if you don't."_

" _Mom's always mad at me and you know that. Anything that goes wrong, no matter what it is always ends up with an argument between me and her. Besides she never does it to Malaika and I don't think she's going to treat Zuri and Anjani like that."_

" _Obviously she won't treat Zuri and Anjani like that." Tojo had muttered sounding a bit angry. "They're Hariku's cubs and she's going to love them just as much as she loves Malaika."_

" _The funny thing is that Mom always blames you and I for not treating Malaika, Zuri and Anjani properly like we love Shani but t she never stopped and considered the fact that it's her fault this happened to us. The day that Hariku and Malaika came everything changed. I don't even know how." Shinda had said._

" _I hate talking about that stuff!" Tojo had growled. "Come on, let's go sleep."_

 _Malaika had ducked into the shadows and waited until the two of them had settled down besides Shani before she walked into their corner of the den and settled down next to Kudeka who was sleeping next to Hariku with the one year old twins sleeping between them. She saw her older brother's cold gaze piercing through the darkness as he glared at her before turning over to face his sisters before he went to sleep._

"And I thought I was the unlucky one having siblings like them." Malaika whispered to herself. Back then she hadn't really considered it but now she knew that it wasn't her who had been cursed by having three older siblings who didn't love her like they loved each other, but rather they had been the unlucky ones having to grow up the way they did.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, unknown to Akila, Malaika and the rest of the Pride, Hasira had overheard Akila and Simba's argument. Hurrying down Priderock, she began scouting out her sisters along with Maisha and Usiku. She knew that seeds of jealousy had been planted firmly in Akila's head and now it was the perfect time to let them grow.

"Hasira?" Hasira turned to see Maisha. She pressed her head against her lifelong friend's head in greeting.

"There you are. I've been looking for you and the others. Where are they?" Hasira asked.

"I was with Tama and Kudeka by the pond. The others are at the grove they usually stay by. What's wrong?" Maisha asked.

"I'll tell you when we get there." Hasira replied and they went to the groves of trees that there friends were resting under.

Fikiri was the first one to see them approaching.

"What's wrong?" Fikiri asked getting up. She rubbed her head against Hasira's in greeting.

"Simba and Akila got into an argument." Hasira said. "I think this is a good time to try and get Akila on our side."

"How?" Upesi asked. "I doubt he'll turn against Simba after one single argument."

"Not if we create more." Usiku piped up with a smile.

"Like how?" Maisha asked.

"We have to figure that out." Hasira said. "But we are friend's with Malaika so I can get close to Akila and plant more jealousy in his head. But we have to act fast, this may be our only chance for a while."

"Alright." Fikiri said. "Then we start tomorrow."

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

The next day, late afternoon Akila was about to leave the den and just as he turned he bumped right into Maisha nearly knocking the lioness over.

"Sorry Maisha!" Akila exclaimed. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's fine." Maisha chuckled. "Your father told me you were the clumsy one anyways."

"Yeah." Akila grinned. "What else did he say?"

"A lot of stuff." Maisha said with a shrug. "He talks about Simba a lot."

"He does?" Akila asked, curiosity sparking in him. "What did he say?"

"A lot of how Simba saved the Pride during the war and how he's always there for the Pride during the darkest of times. He talked a lot on how Simba's taking care of the Pridelands. I think it's true, the Pridelands look beautiful." Maisha said.

"Oh," Akila said doing his best not to show his anger from last night's argument. "Did he mention anything about me?"

"A few things." Maisha nodded. "About how you help Simba when he needs help."

"Oh okay." Akila said forcing on a smile. "I was just wondering. I have to go now, theres some issues I have to talk to Zazu about." Maisha nodded and walked into the den.

Akila stormed down Priderock,he didn't want to be jealous of his brother but his father was making him jealous of Simba.

" _I help Simba when he needs help? I help him whether he needs help or not!"_ Akila mentally exclaimed.

"I was the one there when the Pride needed someone at the most. Not Simba! He ran away and was spending his time frolicking with Nala!" Akila muttered angrily.

"Akila?" Simba's voice made him jerk around and he felt himself stiffening at the sight of his older brother.

"What?" Akila asked his tone coming out more harshly than he thought.

"Did you check in with Zazu? I asked you yesterday morning to do it today." Simba said. "I need it done now because-"

"I didn't check in with Zazu and I'm not going to either." Akila snapped.

"Akila?" Simba gave him a strange look. "Are you okay?" He had never really seen his younger brother like this before.

"I'm not going to check in with Zazu or do anything for you!" Akila snapped. "I'm done doing everything for you and bowing down to you and letting you take the credit for it! I don't get any recognition. I've always had a feeling but I never really let it bother me. But lately, you and Dad act like I don't do anything and I'm done with it!" He stormed away from Simba leaving him stunned at his outburst.

Akila avoided Simba and most of the Pride for the rest of day. He tracked Vijay down and he enjoyed his time playing with his son for the day before bringing him back to Priderock quite late at night when he knew that Simba would be asleep.

" _I don't care if I'm not the second in command anymore. I have more free time that I can spend with Vijay. He's more important than Simba."_ Akila thought while watching Malaika bathe Vijay all while scolding Akila for bringing their son back so late at night. Akila only chuckled and watched while Malaika glared at him.

The next morning, Akila had been enjoying the sun with Amri and Moraan before Amri had to go collect Haru and Moraan had to leave for the came flying down to him.

"Akila!" Zazu called. "Your father wishes to speak to you."

"Then he can come here." Akila said settling his head down in his paws.

"Akila…" Zazu said a bit annoyed. "He wants to speak to you. It's a bit of an urgent matter from what I can tell. He does seem angry at you."

Akila felt another spark of jealousy fly through him. He had figured that Simba had explained everything to Mufasa and Mufasa had believed his word without even asking Akila.

"Well if he needs to speak to me that badly, he can come here. I'm not moving." Akila said smirking at the hornbill who rolled his eyes.

"Very well then, I will tell him but you know he won't be happy." Zazu said and took off. Akila dozed off here and there for about half an hour or so before he felt a presence beside him. He lifted his eyes to see Mufasa towering over him.

"Oh hey Dad." Akila greeted raising his head.

"Akila…" Mufasa said raising his eyebrows. "What's going on with you?"

"I suppose Simba told you the whole thing." Akila asked sitting up.

"Yes he did and I was surprised at your behaviour. Why would you all of a sudden decide not to follow your duties and give up being second in command?" Mufasa asked.

"Because I'm tired of not getting any credit for anything!" Akila shouted. "You don't give me credit for anything and neither does Simba! I've ignored it for long enough but I've had it. I'm the second in command and I do almost as much as Simba but I don't get any credit for anything!"

"Akila I know that you work just as hard but-"

"Or how about you telling everyone that it was Simba who helped the Pride during the darkest of times! It wasn't Simba, it was me! Simba ran away! I stayed and helped protect the Pride until he came back. Then I stepped down and let him take all the credit for being the hero!"

"Akila stop." Mufasa said raising his paw to stop Akila from continuing. "I can tell that you are jealous of your brother but that doesn't give you any excuse as to why-"

"You don't get the point do you?!" Akila exclaimed, looking at his father with a disgusted look. Shaking his head, Akila stormed away and left ignoring Mufasa calling him back.

He hurried back to Priderock wanting to avoid Simba but came directly across him as he neared Priderock. Sarabi was with him and Akila knew he would feel bad ignoring his mother as well.

"Did Dad talk to you?" Simba asked.

"Yeah." Akila said sounding indifferent.

"Alright then do you want to tell me why you're so angry at me? Your that jealous that you would give up being second in command?" Simba asked sounding annoyed.

"No!" Akila snapped.

"Akila," Sarabi said. "Please just tell us what's wrong."

"I already told him Mom." Akila said. "I told Dad and Simba. I'm done with this." He turned around and continued his way to Priderock and found a spot for himself at the Pride's resting place where he knew that he could be in peace.

"That's enough!" Came a voice. Akila turned to see Upesi following Hasira but by the expression on Upesi's face he could see that she was angry. Both of them exchanged a few words before Hasira turned and left leaving a frustrated Upesi behind.

"Anything wrong?" Akila asked going up to Upesi.

"No," Upesi sighed. "Just an old argument, I shouldn't have started. It's just that Hasira always seems to get credit for everything…even for things that she hasn't done. I just got a bit jealous."

"Oh I know that feeling." Akila said with a wistful smile. "Simba's my older brother and the entire Pridelands gives him credit, even for the things I do."

"I know." Upesi chuckled. "But they are the oldest and they will always get the credit for everything. Hasira always talks and acts like she was the only one to help us survive during our time in the Outlands after our Pride was slaughtered. She always forgets how much we, especially I did as well. But I can tell that Simba does take the credit from you. You do seem willing to back down and listen to him."

"Really?" Akila asked. "Is it obvious?"

"Kind of." Upesi shrugged.

"Oh…I didn't realize."Akila muttered.

"I told Kula that I would meet her in the meadow." Upesi said taking her leave. "I'll see you around my Prince." Akila nodded as she left.

"I didn't know it was obvious I backed down to Simba." Akila muttered. "I'm not going to look weak to him any longer!"

"Akila?" Malaika came up beside him. "I thought you were helping Simba."

"I was…" Akila said slowly. "But he doesn't need help anymore. I was actually looking for you." He didn't want to tell Malaika how he was done being Simba's second in command just now. He would tell her later.

"I'm right here." Malaika chuckled licking his cheek.

"Come on." Akila gave her nose a lick. "Let's have some time for ourselves." Malaika smiled before the two of them went off to find some secluded space for themselves.

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The next day, Akila was heading back from the patrol to find some his friend to lounge around with.

"Akila!" Came a voice. It was Usiku.

"What is it?" Akila asked giving the lioness his full attention.

"There's a rogue at the border!" Usiku exclaimed. "He wants to speak with Simba but I can't find him!" Akila knew that he was done helping Simba but rogues were a serious matter and all males dealt with rogues if the King wasn't around. Besides, with him being the second in command for so long he still felt the impulse to do his duty.

"Go find Simba and tell him! If you see Zazu, tell him to spread the word!" Akila said. "I'm going to go confront the rogue."

"By yourself?!" Usiku gasped.

"I was trained for this." Akila said. "Go find Simba! Now!" Usiku sprinted off while Akila charged back towards the border. He found it a bit strange that he hadn't scented the rogue or Usiku while patrolling but he figured that he must have been distracted.

Akila charged through the bushes at the border and looked around. He caught the scent of an unfamiliar lion and he growled under his breath.

"Show yourself!" Akila shouted, letting out a loud roar.

"I'm right here my Prince." Akila spun around to see a large lion with a flowing jet black mane. He had piercing emerald green eyes and orangish brown fur. Something told Akila that this rogue was familiar but he just couldn't put a name to it.

"Who are you?!" Akila growled taking a few steps towards the rogue.

"I came here to talk to you." The rogue said also taking a few steps towards him.

"About what?" Akila demanded.

The rogue opened his mouth to respond but before any words came out of his mouth, he suddenly lifted his paw and Akila felt his head being struck with a powerful blow. He stumbled back only to hit his head again on a tree and he felt blackness clouding his vision.

"You…" Akila tried to speak but no words came out of his mouth. He saw the rogue taking one step closer to him before everything went black.

 **I know this a short chapter but I wanted to keep the next section all together so the next chapter will be longer. So Akila's done with being second in command to Simba and things have heated up between them. Malaika opens her eyes to the life that her siblings grew up in while things also get tense between Mufasa and Akila. I know that there hasn't been too much interaction between Akila and Mufasa in this story so far so there will be more coming up. If theres anything else in the story that you guys would like to see, feel free to leave it in a review or just message me privately. I'll do my best to add it in. Please read and review and stay tuned for the next update :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's chapter ten and I hope you enjoy. Sorry again for the delays between my updates. Each chapter requires a lot of planning and editing along with a lot of time and I'm pretty busy so I don't get to work on this as often as I like. The holidays are coming soon so hopefully I will be able to update at least once more this month. And thank you to my ever loyal reviews who constantly keep me motivated to keep going. I really do appreciate it! Anyways, enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review!**

Akila woke up with a throbbing heard voices around him in the den and he woke up to see Malaika hovering over him looking concerned. When she saw that Akila was awake, she immediately bent down and rubbed her cheek against him.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" Malaika asked.

"Malaika? What happened?" Akila asked jerking back in surprise. "I was at the border confronting a rogue. How did I end up here?"

Malaika looked at him seriously. "Simba was actually right nearby when you were confronting Moto…Scar. He came seconds after you got hit and he fought Scar off but he didn't get to injure him enough to drag him back to Priderock. Your head was bleeding too and he needed to get you back to Priderock before it was too late. He stopped fighting Scar so he could take you pack to Priderock so Rafiki could stop the bleeding."

Akila reached up and touched the sore part of his head and cringed at the pain.

"He left Scar to save me?" Akila exclaimed. "He should have killed Scar!"

"He didn't." Malaika said shaking his head. "You were more important."

"How long was I out for?" Akila asked.

"A little more than three days." Malaika said.

"What?!" Akila exclaimed. "Did Simba manage to get anymore information about Scar?"

"Not that I know of." Malaika said. "The whole Pride's been worried about you. Rafiki said that there was a chance that you might not have even been able to survive this."

"I'm sorry I worried you." Akila said noticing how upset his mate looked. Malaika settled down next to him and buried her face into his mane and Akila held her tightly against him for a few minutes.

"I'll go get your parents." Malaika said. "They haven't slept ever since you got hurt."

Akila nodded and watched Malaika walk out. His head was still throbbing and he settled his head down in his paws. He heard foot steps come into the den and he looked up expecting it to be Mufasa or Sarabi but it wasn't.

It was Simba.

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Meanwhile, Nala was settled down at the Pride's resting area watching her cubs play under the shade of the trees bordering Priderock. She had heard that Akila had woke up and she was relieved. As much as she wanted to see her brother in law immediately, she knew that Malaika wanted some time with him along with Vijay. She also knew that Simba had to talk so she wanted to give them time for that.

"Mom!" Kion called. "Kiara won't play fair! She won't be it when I catch her!"

"Kiara." Nala chuckled looking at her daughter who was looking at Kion and her innocently. "Listen to your brothers." The little cub only laughed and Kopa glared at her before pushing Kiara over. She landed on her back with a small squeak.

"Fine then you're not playing with us Kiara!" Kopa smirked while Kion laughed. Kiara looked at him with wide eyes before her eyes welled up in tears. Sniffling, she ran into Nala's paws and buried her face into Nala's chest.

"Kopa." Nala looked at him sternly. "You know better than that."

"She won't play by the rules Mom!" Kion complained.

"She's still young and she doesn't understand." Nala said. "Both of you know that." She bent down and nuzzled Kiara rocking her back and forth. "Shh my little cub. I'm right here."

Kopa trotted over to Kiara and tried nuzzling her. "Sorry Kiara!" But Kiara's cries only grew louder and Nala figured that she was a bit tired as well.

"She cries so much that my ears hurt." Kion groaned, covering his ears with his paws.

"Boys." Nala said. "How about you two run along and play with your friends? I'm going to put her to sleep." The twins nodded and ran off while Nala focussed her attention on her youngest cub.

"What's wrong?" Nala asked licking Kiara's face to clean up her tears.

"Kopa! Kion!" Kiara managed to get out between sobs and hiccups.

"They were just playing." Nala soothed. "How about you go to sleep now. Mommy's right here."

Kiara shook her head mewing at her mother softly but Nala gently coaxed her down and ran her tongue across her belly to soothe her down.

"Shhhh darling." Nala said gently. "Mommy's right here. Go to sleep." She nuzzled Kiara softly humming to her for a few minutes before she drifted off. When Kiara was sound asleep, she picked her up and headed towards the dens so she could visit Akila.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Back in the den, Akila was staring at his older brother unsure of what to say. Simba broke the silence first.

"How're you feeling?" Simba asked.

"Okay I guess." Akila replied. "My head really hurts but other than that I'm just a bit sore."

"You took a pretty hard hit." Simba nodded. "Your head was bleeding when I found you."

"What happened?" Akila asked. "How did you find me?"

"I was nearby scouting the area when I caught you scent and a scent of a rogue. I ran towards it just in time to see you getting knocked out. I recognized Scar immediately and I tried fighting him. But your head was bleeding and I knew that had to get checked right away. That distracted me and Scar ran away." Simba said. "Then I got you back to Priderock then we called Rafiki to come check on you."

"Oh…" Akila said softly. "Why did you let Scar get away though? We needed information from him."

"I know." Simba said. "But if I kept fighting him, you probably would have died from blood loss. Your head was bleeding badly. Even by the time I got you to Priderock, Rafiki was worried that you wouldn't make it."

"Thanks." Akila said his voice getting emotional as he realized that Simba had given up his victory over Scar to save him.

"Do you think I would have let you die?" Simba asked.

"Kind of." Akila shrugged. "After what happened and the situation with Scar."

"You think so lowly of me." Simba muttered shaking his head but there was a smile pulling at his mouth.

"Why were you out there in the first place?" Simba asked. "I thought you were done with being the second in command."

"When Usiku told me about the rogue, I couldn't just ignore that. It's kind of just instinct for me now. So I ran to the border and told her to find you and tell you." Akila said.

"I wanted to apologize to you." Simba said settling down in front of him. "After getting into that last argument with you…I realized that you are right. You do so much for me but I still get the credit for it. I talked to Dad about it too, he admitted that he was hard on you and we were both going to come and talk and apologize to you…then you got attacked. Akila, we thought you were going to die. Dad was devastated. I could see it in his eyes."

"Really?" Akila asked. Both of them knew that Mufasa wasn't the type to show much emotion.

"He was." Simba nodded. "I was too, I thought you weren't going to make it and the worst part was that I would never be able to say sorry and let you know that I really do appreciate everything you do. I want to fix my mistakes by making sure you get the credit for all you do and all that you've done. You worked hard for it. Akila, I need you by my side. I can't do this without you."

"Wow." Akila smirked. "I didn't think you could apologize that nicely." Simba grinned and sent his paw flying at his younger brother but Akila ducked.

"Simba!" Akila exclaimed. "My head's already hurts!" Simba only laughed before giving Akila a nuzzle. "Want me to go get Vijay?"

"Yeah." Akila smiled. "I need to see him." His heart felt at ease knowing that everything with Simba was fine now. Simba was right, they needed each other.

Simba smiled at him before trotting out the den to find Vijay. On the way out, he bumped into Nala who was walking out the den they used for the creche.

"How did it go?" Nala asked. She nuzzled her mate.

"Good." Simba replied returning her affection. "It's all good."

"I have to go find Vijay." Simba said. "I'll be back." He trotted down Priderock to see Alex with Vijay, Kion and Kopa.

"Vijay!" Simba called. The cub turned around and trotted over to Simba.

"What's wrong Uncle Simba?" Vijay asked. Simba bent down and nuzzled his nephew.

"Your father is awake." Simba said grinning at Vijay. "Wanna go see him?"

"He's awake!" Vijay exclaimed. "I'm gonna see him right now." He ran up Priderock and towards the dens.

"Can we go see Uncle Akila too Dad?" Kion asked coming up to Simba.

"Sure." Simba nodded. "He's been waiting to see you." The twins trotted off to

the dens.

"How is he?" Alex asked. He had been worried sick about his cousin until Malaika had told him that he had just woken up.

"He's fine." Simba said settling down in front of Alex. "His head still hurts but that's better than before."

"Good." Alex nodded. "You okay?" He looked at Simba knowingly.

"Yeah…I'm fine." Simba said understanding what Alex meant. Alex knew that Simba had been worried sick about Akila. He had been the only one that Simba had confided in, telling him how guilty he felt. Alex doubted that Simba had even told Nala about how he felt because knowing Simba, he probably had been too stubborn to do so.

Alex had been surprised that his cousin had told him though, he and Simba had drifted apart as of late and he missed the friendship that they had. They were more than best friends…they were brothers. Of course, they were only cousins blood wise. Alex's mother, Shireen was Sarabi's older sister. After Alex's father had died when he was young, Mufasa had stepped up and filled in the father figure that Alex had lost. In doing so, he had become close with Simba and Akila, especially Simba since they were the same age. They had grown up together as brothers and best friends. But after becoming King and especially after having his own cubs, Alex noticed that he and Simba had drifted apart and they weren't as close as they used to be. They hung out when they could but Simba was often busy with his duties and tending to his cubs. Sure Simba and Akila were close. But Alex and Simba were best friends.

He spent time with Simba's cubs however. Simba and Nala had chosen he and Shinda to be Kopa godparents and Kopa along with his siblings spent a lot of their time with them along with Shani and Tojo. They spent time with Malaika and Akila as well but they weren't as close to Malaika and Akila as they were to them. After Nala and Simba, they had practically raised them.

"What's on your mind?" Simba asked, noticing Alex's face.

"Nothing." Alex replied. "I'm fine."

"No you aren't." Simba smirked. "When you say 'I'm fine', it means you aren't."

"I'm just surprised you told me how you felt about Akila." Alex admitted. "I know we aren't as close as we used to be so I was surprised when you told me. You don't admit things like these a lot."

"I know." Simba said. "I miss how close we used to be. There were so many things I wanted to tell you and talk to you about…but it was so hard with all that I had to do especially after Nala and I had Kopa and Kion. And I'm sorry. I really am, I didn't mean to hurt you like that I want to be as close as we used to be. I really miss it."

"I know." Alex smiled. "It's okay, really it is. It's not your fault. But I miss it too."

"Elephant lake?" Simba asked with a grin. The elephant lake had been where they had always hung out as adolscents and young lions. It was away from the crowded pride and it was much more peaceful than Priderock.

"Your short cut or mine?" Alex smirked raising his eyebrows. He still remembered the time he and Simba had tried taking a shortcut from Priderock to the lake. He had followed Simba's lead only to have him drag him through thorny bushes when they were adolescents. It had ended up with them being covered in thorns and listening to Sarabi and Shireen both scold them for an hour while they cleaned them up.

"Yours." Simba laughed. "Let's go." He gave Alex a friendly nudge before the two of them went off.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

"Daddy!" Simba woke up the next day to see Kiara standing in front of him.

"What is it sweetie?" Simba asked. He gave her face a lick and the young cub let out a squeak of protest.

"Play?" Kiara asked.

"Not right now." Simba said, pulling her into his paws. "Daddy's tired." He settled his head back down hoping to get some more sleep but Kiara squeezed out of his grasp.

"Daddy!" Kiara pulled on his ear. Simba's eyes didn't open until he felt Kiara pouncing on his head and he sighed. Groaning silently, he raised his head and Kiara let out a happy smile.

"Come on." Simba said. "Let's go to the Waterhole." Kiara mewed and ran out of the den with Simba behind her. He was glad that Kiara wasn't like Kion and Kopa who would walk out of the den if they woke up before Nala and Simba. It had caused him to panic on too many occasions.

He led Kiara down to the Waterhole and he lapped at the water before he chased Kiara around for a while playing with her. Both of them were enjoying it until Simba noticed that she was getting tired.

"Let's get back to Priderock." Simba said. He bent down and picked Kiara up and carried her back to Priderock. When they reached Priderock, Nala and the twins were coming down from the dens.

"Where did you two go?" Nala asked as she approached them. She licked Kiara's forehead before giving her mate a nuzzle.

"She woke me up early to go play." Simba said returning Nala's affection. "I'm going to go back to the den." Nala chuckled at her mate as he eagerly went into the dens no doubt to get some more sleep.

"Wanna play with us today Mom?" Kion asked.

"I want to." Nala said nuzzling her cubs. "But I have to go with the hunting party soon. We can play after feeding time."

"When can we watch?" Kopa asked.

"Soon." Nala said.

"Mom that's what you always say!" Kopa complained but Nala only gave the side of his head a lick before leading her cubs back into the dens.

"Go find your father." Nala said nudging the three of them into the den. "I have to go now." She knew Simba would be irritated at her for leaving the cubs with him but Nala knew that all three of their cubs loved spending time with Simba.

After making sure they had gone into the dens instead of running off, Nala headed towards the hunting grounds to meet her hunting party. She was glad with the number of lionesses that had shown up, they hadn't gone on a hunt for two days and they needed to make several kills today to feed the entire Pride.

"Nala?" Sarabi gave her a nuzzle. "Ready to go?" Nala nodded. She led the lionesses down to the wildebeast herds.

"Remember," Nala said looking at the younger lionesses that had recently started joining the hunting party. "We don't target the any calves. Neither do we touch the young males or females. We hunt the old and sick. This is the only way that the circle of life can continue."

"I want you four to go and hide in the tallest grass. You will scare them and start the chase towards the rest of us." Nala said looking at them. She saw the disappointment in their eyes when they realized the Queen wasn't going to let them make the kills.

"Don't worry." Nala said smiling at them. "You'll get your chance very soon. But for now, you will only be starting the hunts." The lionesses nodded before slithering away to the tallest grass while Nala split the rest of her hunting party into groups and leaving the older lionesses to make the actual kill.

Soon the lionesses were in their positions and Nala waited with Shinda and Kula beside her, waiting for the lionesses to start the hunt. She could see the younger lionesses slowly creeping out the tall grass and roaring. The started wildabeast frantically started running towards them and Nala jumped out of her hiding place, cornering in on her target. She chased it towards the bushes she knew Tama was waiting but before she could, she saw a very familiar tuft of red fur running around in the grass. Her heart began to pound madly when she realized who it was and her thoughts were confirmed when she heard Kula's cry.

"Jasiri!" Kula frantic cry for her daughter pierced the hunt. Sure enough, Jasiri had come to watch accomponied by Haru, Tanabi and Kion. The wildebeast herd was heading for the cubs and Nala abandoned the chase and ran towards them desperately wanting to get there before the wildebeast herd trampled them.

Nala along with Shani and Tama reached the cubs before the herd did and quickly moved them out of harms way. Kula and Shari hurried towards them along with the rest of the hunting party.

"Are you hurt?" Kula asked pulling Jasiri in closer. She covered her with licks and nuzzles to make sure she was okay along with her grandmother, Penda.

"I'm fine Mom." Jasiri said trying to squeeze out of Kula's protective grasp.

"Kion what were you thinking? The herd could have trampled you!" Nala asked nuzzling her son. She nuzzled him making sure he hadn't been hurt. She had been so scared that the herd would have trampled him to death before she could reach him.

"I wanted to watch you hunt Mom!" Kion exclaimed as Sarabi came in closer and nuzzled him ensuring that he was okay.

"Haru don't ever do that again!" Shari exclaimed nuzzling and licking her son. "You could have been killed!"

Tama nuzzled Tanabi holding him in her grasp tightly. "You know that you can't come on hunts yet."

"All of you cubs know," Malaika said. "That you aren't allowed to come on the hunts yet. All four of you knew better than to come."

Nala narrowed her eyes at Kion. "I've told you many times before. What changed your mind?"

Kion lowered his head. "I wanted to watch you hunt!"

"Jasiri…" Kula looked at her daughter sternly. "Explain the meaning of this."

"Mom we…" Jasiri began but the young cub was too frightened to continue.

"There are reasons why we tell you that you can't come on the hunts yet and this is exactly why." Tama scolded Tanabi. "You could have been killed." Tanabi opened his mouth to protest but one look from Tama silenced him.

Haru didn't say anything except squirm uneasily under Shari's burning glare at him.

"Zazu!" Nala called to the hornbill who was flying overhead.

"Yes my Queen?" Zazu asked settling in front of Nala.

"Take the cubs back to Priderock." Nala said. "Take them right to their fathers."

"Of course." Zazu said and began escorting the cubs back to Priiderock.

"We can talk when I get back." Nala said looking at Kion with a sigh. They would have to track a new herd now since the wildebeast herd had been scared off and would definitely be on alert now.

Zazu took the sullen cubs back to Priderock.

"This is all your fault Kion!" Haru hissed.

"Mine!" Kion exclaimed narrowing his eyes. "It was your idea too!"

"It was Tanabi's idea too!" Haru argued back.

"No it wasn't!" Tanabi said. "I wasn't the one who started it. Jasiri did!"

"No I didn't!" Jasiri exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter who started it." Zazu called from above. "All of you will be in trouble with your fathers when you get back to Priderock."

Sure enough, Simba, Amri, Morran and Chumvi were waiting for them when they got back to Priderock. Zazu explained what happened before leaving the cubs with the males.

Jasiri lowered her head as Chumvi picked her up and carried her away. She knew that her father was silent when he was angry. Chumvi didn't speak a word as he carried her down Priderock and set her down underneath the shade of an acacia tree. He stood in front of her giving her a stern look. Jasiri looked down at her paws unable to face her father's angry glare.

"Jasiri…" Chumvi began angrily. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed!"

"But Daddy I wanted to watch Mom and the other lionesses hunt!" Jasiri protested but Chumvi cut her off.

"No." Chumvi said. "You knew better than that. We've told you many times that you're too young to watch the lionesses hunt. You're not even four years old yet. When your big enough to go watch the lionesses hunt, we will let you watch. But from now, do not let me ever catch you breaking the rules again. Understand?" Chumvi asked emphasizing the last part.

Jasiri nodded barely able to keep her tears at bay. She had so badly wanted to watch the lionesses hunt and they had been so close.

Chumvi's eyes softened seeing how scared Jasiri was. He didn't want to scare her but he needed to make sure she wouldn't go running off into dangerous situations like that again. After losing Enye, Chumvi knew he wouldn't be able to handle losing Jasiri as well.

"I know you want to watch them hunt my little beauty." Chumvi said pulling her in closer and giving her side a lick. "And you will, I promise. Just not today." Jasiri nodded rubbing her face against Chumvi's cheek and he smiled.

"Come on." Chumvi nudged her. "Let's go play by the Waterhole." Jasiri's face brightened as she followed her father to play.

Jasiri enjoyed her time with Chumvi and before she knew it, they were heading back to Priderock as the hunting party returned. Kula had their share of the kill and the family finished of their portion. After being fed, Jasiri crawled into her mother's paws as Kula began bathing her as the family lounged underneath the trees lining Priderock.

"Jasiri." Kula said. "We have to talk about your punishment."

"Mom!" Jasiri whined. "I won't do it again!" Chumvi looked at her with an amused smile and Kula raised her eyebrows at her.

"I won't!" Jasiri begged. "Please Mom!"

"Alright." Kula chuckled. "I'll let you off this time. Now go play with your friends." Jasiri rolled out of Kula's paws and nuzzled her parents who lovingly returned her affection before she ran off.

"Don't leave Priderock!" Chumvi called after her.

"Your mother and everyone else constantly tells me that she takes after you…a little too much!" Kula smiled looking at her mate.

Chumvi licked her cheek. "Did anyone care to mention that I was never alone? Whatever I did, I did with my friends!" Kula nuzzled her nose against his before laying her head against his shoulder hoping to get some sleep before Jasiri came running back. Her daughter had quite a lot of energy, sometime more than what she and Chumvi could keep up with. She figured Jasiri would grow out of it as the years went by.

Thinking of Jasiri growing up sent a bolt of pain through Kula's chest as she remembered Enye. Her poor little Enye who would now never have the chance to grow up. Her son had left her too early in his life and Kula would never be able to get the guilt or grief off her shoulders. She had always blamed herself for not watching Enye properly no matter how much Chumvi begged and pleaded her not to. But Kula and Chumvi both knew that the pain and grief about their son would never leave even if they tried to let him go. They still loved him just as much as they loved Jasiri and always would. Most of the time, it was fine and they could carry out their lives normally. But there were still times that all Kula wanted to do was sit down and weep for her son. During those times, she only wanted Chumvi with her. He was the only one who would ever be able to understand her pain.

"Kula," Chumvi said noticing her face and he immediately knew what his mate was thinking about. "It's okay, I'm right here." He rubbed his face against hers and tucked her head beneath his chin, holding Kula in his embrace for a few minutes and Kula held onto him tightly.

"I'm good." Kula said softly after a few minutes and she pulled back and settled her head in Chumvi's paws wanting to take a nap. Chumvi placed his head on top of hers and within minutes, both of them were dozing.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, days away from the Pridelands Scar's Pride was returning from a small hunt they had managed to make. Scar walked into the termite mounds that they called their home ever since they had moved well away from the Pridelands to ensure that none of Simba's searchers would see or find Kovu.

"Dad!" He raised his head to see Kovu running towards him, his face still matted from his meal.

"Did you eat?" Scar asked and Kovu nodded. They always ensured that Kovu had enough to eat, he was their future and would lead the Pride into victory.

"Can we do something Dad?" Kovu asked. "Vitani and Nuka won't do anything with me!"

"And why is that?" Scar asked, closing his eyes and settling his head down again. "I'm about to take a nap Kovu. Leave me to be."

"I don't know." Kovu shrugged. "But I wanna play!"

"Kovu leave your father alone." Kovu turned to see Zira walking towards them. He nuzzled his mother as Zira settled down next to Scar.

"Mom! Dad! I have nothing to do!"

"Go find something to do." Zira said. "We're tired from the hunt." Kovu lowered his head and nodded before trotting out of the den. He loved his parents more than anything but he wished they would play with him like had seen the other lionesses playing with their cubs. The occasions that his mother and father would spend time with him would usually be spent by hunting and pouncing lessons.

Kovu trotted through the tunnels of the termite mounds until he spotted his brother and sister in the crevice avoiding the heat.

"Wanna play?" Kovu asked running up to them.

"Get out of here termite!" Nuka snapped. Kovu pounced on his back but Nuka threw him off and he landed on the ground with a thump.

"Nuka!" Vitani exclaimed. "Stop it!" She didn't really understand why Nuka constantly harassed their younger brother. Nuka only smirked at her before settling back down.

"Do you want to play a game 'Tani?" Kovu asked.

"Yeah." Vitani said. "Let's go find some others and play." She and Kovu trotted outside.

Watching them go, Nuka got up wondering if he could find his parents for a few minutes. He found them in a deep conversation that they stopped when they spotted Nuka coming up to them.

"What is it Nuka?" Zira asked her tone annoyed.

"I…I was going to ask…I think…" Nuka didn't know what to say but he as glad he could finally have their full attention for once.

"Well boy?" Scar asked. "Are you going to tell me or stand there stuttering all day?"

"When am I going to get more hunting lessons?" Nuka blurted out. "I want to practice more."

"Soon," Zira said in a dismissive tone that Nuka knew better than to argue with. He got up and walked away.

"Hasira tells me that Upesi has become friends with Kula. I don't approve of it but it gives me insight into how they are. She told me that there's not a day that goes by where she doesn't miss him."

"It doesn't matter. He is not their son, he is our son." Zira said, silently growling at the thought of Kula.

"Who's your son?" Scar and Zira turned around to see Kovu walking up towards them.

"Kovu what are you doing here?" Scar asked.

"It's too hot outside to play." Kovu said. "But what were you talking about Dad? Who's Kula and who's your son?"

"Nothing, Kula is just a lioness that…we used to know. And we were talking about Nuka and how his hunting lessons were going." Scar said. He noticed a flash of panic in Zira's eyes.

"Oh." Kovu nodded. Strangely enough,he swore he could remember a lioness named Kula. The name sounded oddly familiar even though Kovu was sure no one had spoken about a lioness named Kula until today. But at the back of his mind he wondered where he had heard of the name 'Kula' before.

But looking at Scar and Zira, Kovu relaxed. He knew his parents loved him and would never lie to him.

"Come darling." Zira said pulling Kovu into her paws. "You must be getting tired from the heat." Kovu smiled and nestled down in Zira's paws before he drifted off.

"When will you start his training?" Zira asked breaking the silence between them.

"Soon, very soon." Scar said smiling at a sleeping Kovu as he imagined how powerful he would be once Scar was done with him. "He will start his training soon and be trained well. Then he will lead us to our victory!"

 **I got some feedback saying that there wasn't much about Kula, Chumvi and their cubs so I decided to add some. Also, we can see that Jasiri is a curious cub and that is for sure going to be a big part of this story in the coming chapters. I added some stuff about Scar and his family just cuz we haven't seen him in a while. The next chapter will continue on with Simba's plan to stop Scar…and whether that plan will be a success or not. Also,I know that this story has been going very slow in terms of action and what is happening but I just wanted to remind you guys that I originally I started this story, thinking that I would do one shots about what happens in the Pridelands after the events of the first story before I got the idea for this story. I do want to keep some aspect of that which is why I the story seems to be moving slowly. And there are some important details that I weave into all the fluff…it'll be crucial for the events that happen at the very climax of this story. Anyways, stay tuned for the next update.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's the first chapter of 2017! So it's been a long time since I've updated and my apologies for that. But life does get very busy for me and I need a long time to write. Thanks to TMNTTLK lover, Black Louie and RogueRaven 18 for reviewing. I really appreciate it! A few more reviews would be nice… :)**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you like it.**

Back in the Pridelands, Simba was returning back to Priderock. It was a few months since Akila's incident with Scar and he had healed completely and had resumed his role of second in command. As for Scar, Simba had sent word to neighbouring Prides to help him find Scar's location but they hadn't been successful. Wherever Scar was hiding, he was hiding well.

Going past the trees bordering Priderock, Simba spotted many of the Pride members lounging underneath the trees. Among them, Simba spotted a lioness named Ashika. He felt a nagging feeling remembering exactly who the lioness was. It was his Ariya's mother.

Simba remembered Ariya and how lowly he had thought of her. It was not only until Ariya had told him about her mother that Simba realized exactly how much Ariya had been through and why she acted the way she did. He still felt sorry for the Ariya and hoped that she had found happiness wherever she was. She deserved it.

There was a cub in her adolescent ages next to Ashika. It was Raina, Ariya's younger half sister. Although the cub looked a lot like her mother, she looked nothing like Ariya. Simba knew Ashika's mate, Iacron. He was a good natured lion and was well known and liked in the Pride. Although he and Simba talked on many occasions ,he still couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling he always got when he talked with Iacron. No matter how good he seemed to be, it wouldn't change how Ashika and him had treated Ariya.

"Simba?" Came a voice. It was Alex and Tojo. He had done good on his promise with Alex and the rest of his friends. He had found time for them and now they were just as close as they had always been before Simba had gotten busy with his duties as King.

"Anything wrong?" Simba asked. He bumped heads with his friends in greeting.

"No but Akila said that you would take over his patrol for him. He's doing something with Malaika right now." Tojo said.

"Oh right." Simba sighed. "Do you want to go now?" He enjoyed being able to patrol with his friends. He was often busy and missed out on spending time with them so patrols were a good way to catch up. Alex nodded and the three were off.

A while later, Kiara emerged out of the dens with Nala. Seeing that it was mid morning, Nala turned to her daughter.

"I have to go hunting now." Nala said. "Stay at Priderock until your father comes back. Okay?"

"Mom!" Kiara complained. "Can't I come with you? I'm going to be bored by myself." Nala chuckled at her. She had only began talking fluently a while ago and she was learning quickly.

"Not today Kiara." Nala said nuzzling her. "When your older, you can come with us." She gave the top of her head a lick before heading down Priderock.

Kiara sighed and sat down. She knew that Danyssa was at the River Pride so she couldnt' play with her and she had no idea where Jasiri was. She knew her brothers left the den early to go play with their friends but she wasn't allowed to leave Priderock without an adult yet.

"Kiara?" Kiara turned to see her grandmother, Sarabi walking up to her and nuzzled her youngest grandcub. "What's wrong?"

"There's no one to play with me Grandma." Kiara said nuzzling Sarabi.

"Why don't you come play with Vijay?" Sarabi suggested, licking the top of her head. Kiara nodded and followed her into the dens. Ajjali, now nearly an adolescent bounded past them giving her mother a nuzzle before she left.

"Kiara!" Kiara felt someone pouncing on her and she looked up to see Vijay standing over her with a grin.

"Get off!" Kiara laughed pushing him off with her back legs. With a playful growl, she jumped on Vijay and the two of them rolled around the den laughing and trying to pin each other down.

"I'm the hungry hyena and you look like a good snack!" Vijay said growling the best he could. With a squeal, Kiara ran around and out of the den with Vijay chasing after her.

Seeing Vijay run after her, Kiara bounded down Priderock. She suddenly heard Vijay calling out behind her.

"Kiara watch out!" Kiara suddenly felt her running into someone who felt a bit too familiar and she looked up to see her father towering over her along with Alex and Tojo.

"Kiara…" Simba said raising his eyebrow. "You know you can't leave Priderock."

"Daddy it's not my fault!" Kiara said. "Vijay chased me out of the den!"

"No I didn't!" Vijay exclaimed. "You ran out of the den!" Kiara glared at him and pounced on him but Tojo used his paw to separate the cubs.

"Enough!" Alex said. "Vijay, Zuri and Anjani are in the meadow. Why don't you go play with them?" Vijay nodded and after sticking his tongue out at Kiara, he ran off.

The males chuckled seeing Kiara's frustrated face.

"Come on little Princess." Tojo said. "How about you come with me and we can take a nice nap?"

"I wanna play with Daddy." Kiara said turning to Simba and clung onto his front leg. "Please Daddy! Can we play?"

"Daddy's a bit tired right now…" Simba said. "We can play tonight."

"Please Daddy, please!" Kiara begged clinging onto him. She looked at Simba with bright pleading eyes and Simba sighed knowing he couldn't say no. He heard Alex and Tojo chuckling at him.

"Alright." Simba said. "Let's go." Kiara giggled and after nuzzling her uncles, she bounded down Priderock with Simba behind her.

"Kiara slow down!" Simba chuckled. "You're going to tire yourself out!" Kiara waited for Simba to catch up.

"Mom went hunting. Did you see Kion and Kopa?" Kiara asked wondering where her older brothers were.

"I saw them following the lionesses on the hunt for the first time today." Simba said. "They're going after antelope today so it's not too dangerous for them to go." He saw Kiara's face fall.

"It's alright my little Princess." Simba said rubbing his cheek against Kiara's. "You'll be old enough to go with them soon enough." He led Kiara to the stream and gently nudged Kiara in knowing she had only splashed around in the small pond before.

"It's okay, I'm right behind you!" Simba assured keeping a close hold on her.

Kiara waded into the water, enjoying the coolness. She felt Simba sending a wave of water at her and she laughed before splashing Simba. She loved playing in the water with her father. Simba would come into the water and play with them unlike Nala who didn't like getting wet unless she had to.

After about ten minutes, Kiara heard the flapping of wings and turned to see Zazu flying down towards them.

"Zazu whats wrong?" Simba asked, giving the hornbill his attention.

"Sire, the rhinos and the hippos are fighting again over Zuberi lake." Zazu said. "You must attend to it now."

"I know." Simba nodded. "Zazu, take Kiara back to Priderock."

"Dad!" Kiara whined. Simba nuzzled her.

"I'm sorry Kiara but I need to take care of this." Simba said. "Go find Uncle Tojo, he'll play with you." Giving her another nuzzle, Simba was off and Kiara followed Zazu home.

"Don't worry Princess Kiara." Zazu said seeing the cubs dejected face. "Soon you'll be big enough to play with everyone else."

"But that's going to take so long Zazu." Kiara frowned as she trotted back home. Upon arriving at Priderock, she climbed up the rocks and into the den to look for Tojo. He was no where to be seen but she spotted Shinda dozing lightly in the corner of the den.

"Auntie!" Kiara pounced on Shinda's back and she raised her head.

"Hello my little cub." Shinda said licking her face. "What're you doing by yourself?" She picked Kiara up and placed her between her paws.

"There's no one to play with me." Kiara said. "Can we play Auntie?"

"I'll play with you right after you get a bath." Shinda smiled and Kiara nodded letting her aunt groom her. Unlike her brothers, Kiara enjoyed baths and would often get dirty just to get one. Shinda spent her time cleaning Kiara. She had raised Kiara just like she would raise her own cubs as she had done with Kion and Kopa. After not being able to have cubs of her own, she and Alex had practically raised Simba and Nala's cubs.

Kiara felt herself getting drowsy and with a yawn she buried herself into Shinda's fur and closed her eyes. The afternoon heat felt good and before she knew it Kiara had drifted off but opened her eyes again when she heard voices in the den. Rubbing her eyes with her paws, Kiara got onto her paws to see her older brothers in the den along with some other cubs.

"Kion and Kopa are back." Shinda nudged Kiara. "Why don't you play with them?" Kiara nodded and bounded over to her older brothers nuzzling both of them. Kopa returned her affection and Kion pressed his head against Kiara.

"I thought you went with Mom on the hunt?" Kiara asked.

"We did but they didn't make a kill. So they sent us back and went to find another herd." Kion said. "It was really cool Kiara. You should go see it."

"I'm not allowed to go." Kiara said folding her ears down. "Do you wanna play with me?"

"We were gonna go play at the pond." Kopa said. "It's really hot and…" His voice trailed off at the look Shinda was giving him.

"Kopa…" Shinda raised her eyebrows at Kopa, giving him a knowing smile. "How about you two play with your sister for a bit? She's had nothing to do all morning."

"Auntie!" Kion tried to protest but shut his mouth as he noticed the look Shinda gave him.

"Alright." Kion sighed. Shinda smiled and nuzzled all three of them. "You can play around Priderock but don't leave Priderock with Kiara." The cubs nodded before bounding outside.

"I wanted to play at the pond!" Kopa huffed.

"But I'm not allowed to go Kopa." Kiara said. "We have to stay here."

"You can stay here." Kion smirked. "We're gonna go."

"Boys…" The cubs turned around to see Simba giving them an amused smile.

"Daddy!" Kiara ran to her father and nuzzled her head against his leg. Simba returned her affection before nuzzling Kion and Kopa.

"And just where were you going to go Kion?" Simba said giving his son a knowing grin.

"No where." Kion smiled back. "We're staying here Dad."

"Good." Simba said. "It's too hot too leave Priderock and play anyways and I want you here by the time the lionesses come back from the hunt. Come with me to the dens." He nudged his cubs back into the royal den.

"Dad, can you take Kion and I patrolling at the northern border?" Kopa asked. "Isn't that where the elephant graveyard is? Grandpa said it was safe to go as long as we're with some adults and we don't go past the border."

"Well…" Simba thought for a minute. "I'm going to patrol there tomorrow with Amri, Moraan and Chumvi…"

"Please Dad!" Kion begged. "I want to see what the elephant graveyard is."

"Alright you can come." Simba said. "But we're not going into the Elephant Graveyard. You can see what it is from the border."

"Can I come too?" Kiara asked. She hadn't gone on any patrols with her father or any of the males before.

"Sweetie the northern border is the furthest border and it's the longest patrol too." Simba said. "I don't want you tiring out when we go there, it's a long walk. I'll talk to Mom and we'll see if you can come patrolling at another border. Uncle Tojo and Uncle Akila are going to be at the western border tomorrow, how about you go with them?"

"Alright." Kiara said lowering her head. She hated being too young to go with her brothers but at least she would be able to go on the patrol for the first time tomorrow.

"Too bad you aren't old enough Kiara!" Kion smirked. Kiara growled and pounced on him and the two of them rolled around the den trying to pin each other down. With Kion being bigger than her, he managed to pin Kiara down.

"Gotcha!" Kion grinned. Kiara threw him off before only to be pounced on again by Kopa who held her down firmly with a smug look.

"Kopa!" Kiara struggled to get out of his hold. Simba reached over and gently used his paw to pick Kopa up and off of Kiara.

"Come on Dad!" Kopa exclaimed. "It was fun!"

"Leave her alone Kopa." Simba chuckled. "You know she still too young."

Suddenly Kiara heard noises outside and she realized it was the hunting party so Nala would be back.

"Mom's back!" Kiara exclaimed running out of the den with Kopa and Kion following her.

"Mom!" Nala turned around and smiled at the sight of her cubs running towards her with Simba a little ways behind. She bent down and nuzzled all three of them.

"What have you been doing all morning?" Nala asked. She licked the top of Kiara's head.

"I was at Priderock." Kiara said looking excited. "Mom tell Daddy that I can go patrolling with Uncle Akila and Uncle Tojo! He said he would ask you. Tell him Mom!"

"And what's this about?" Nala laughed looking at Simba. He greeted his mate with a loving nuzzle.

"She wants to go patrolling tomorrow. I can't take her to the northern border tomorrow, she'll probably tire out. But Akila and Tojo will be at the western border tomorrow so I was thinking of letting her go then. What do you think?" Simba asked looking at Nala for her response.

"Well…" Nala began. "I-"

"Please Mom!" Kiara clung onto Nala's front leg. "I really wanna go!"

"Alright…" Nala chuckled. "You can go. Now come on, I have our share of the kill." She lead her family to where she had stashed their kill. After feeding, Nala settled down with Simba by her side and pulled Kion towards her to clean him.

"Mom!" Kion complained. "I wanna go play!" He struggled to get out of Nala's firm grasp.

"Kion, stay still and you'll be done sooner." Simba chuckled, grabbing Kopa by the tail as he tried running away. He sighed and flopped down on the grass.

After Nala was done bathing the twins, they hurried off to find their friends much to Kiara's disappointment. Nala noticed her daughter's face and pulled Kiara into her paws with a smile.

"Don't worry Kiara." Nala said running her tongue along Kiara's back to comfort her. "You'll be old enough to play with them soon enough."

"Besides, in the mean time you can play with me!" Simba said giving Kiara a grin.

"You're not as fun as Kion and Kopa, Daddy!" Kiara huffed. Simba pretended to look hurt, placing his paw over his heart to mock her. Nala chuckled at her mate.

"Sorry Daddy…" Kiara said, squeezing into Simba's paws and nuzzling him. Simba smiled at his youngest cub and rubbed his face against hers lovingly.

"Now come on." Nala said. "Its time for your nap." She picked Kiara up and placed her between her and Simba, shielding Kiara from the glaring sunlight.

"I'm not tired Mom." Kiara protested. "And I don't want a nap!"

"Shhh," Nala said. "You know you get tired."

"Don't worry, we won't tell your brothers that you took a nap." Simba chuckled, running his paw along her back and Kiara settled down. Simba knew the twins loved to tease and harass Kiara over the fact that she still had to take naps. Nala settled her head on top of Simba's shoulder and two of them talked quietly to let their daughter sleep.

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After two or three weeks, Kiara begged her parents again to let her go play with Kion, Kopa and the rest of the cubs. Simba and Nala agreed as long as she agreed to stay with Kion and Kopa and not go very far from Priderock.

"Kopa, Kion keep an eye out on her." Simba said. "Both of you know that she's never been away from Priderock without an adult."

"Yeah Dad I know." Kion said. "We'll watch her."

"And Kiara…" Simba turned to Kiara and placed his paw over her tail to keep her still. "Listen to Kion and Kopa. Don't run away from them."

"I won't Daddy." Kiara said. "Can I go now?"

"Run along." Nala nuzzled her cubs. "Be careful!"

"Okay Mom." Kopa said as they bounded back Priderock. Nala noticed the worry on Simba's face and she rubbed her cheek against his.

"It's okay, they'll be fine." Nala said, licking his cheek before she pulled back.

"I know." Simba said giving her nose a lick to return her affection. "But she's still so young and I'm worried that Kion or Kopa will get distracted. They're still cubs."

"They'll be fine." Nala assured as they headed towards the trees bordering Priderock. "Besides, I told them not to gone for too long. My parents and some of the River Pride will be here by the evening so they know they have to be back by then." Nala was glad her parents were coming, her visits to the River Pride had become less and less frequent as she got busier with her role as the Queen and taking care of three cubs took up a good chunk of her time.

Simba and Nala settled down underneath a large acacia tree to stay in the shade. Nala settled her head down in her paws wanting to get some sleep.

"Tired?" Simba smiled as he nuzzled her cheek.

"Of course I am." Nala smiled. "Taking care of three cubs gets tiring you know."

"How about we try for another one then?" Simba joked, and ducked to avoid Nala's paw swatting him.

"I'll pass." Nala chuckled closing her eyes. She had definitely wanted more than one cub, but she couldn't imagine having to take care of four. Simba settled his head on top of hers and soon enough the King and Queen were asleep.

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An hour or two later after playing with their friends, Kion and Kopa had shown Kiara the places they played at near Priderock.

"That's where Haru, Kion and I always hide out when we play lions and hyenas." Kion said pointing at the abandoned dug out. "But you can't tell anyone because it's a secret."

"Can I use it too?" Kiara asked looking at her older brothers hopefully.

"Okay." Kopa said. "But you can't tell anyone else! So not even Jasiri and Danyssa!" He knew they were Kiara's best friends.

"Come on." Kion said. "There's still a lot of cool places you have to see." They lead Kiara a little ways past the waterhole and the meadow to the grove of acacia trees that the herds of giraffe often fed at. It was empty today.

"We play tree tag here." Kopa said. "But only when there's no giraffes or else you might get trampled."

"Tanabi almost got trampled once." Kion said. "But then Mom, Tama and some other lionesses got here in time and saved us."

"We got in so much trouble!" Kopa said with a grin. Kiara laughed and was about to ask her brothers to take her to more places when they heard growling behind them. Kiara turned to see what was growling and her eyes went wide with horror when she spotted two hidious creatures approaching them.

"Kion…Kopa…" Kiara was too scared to speak.

The twins looked at the approaching creatures with fear. Both Kion and Kopa knew they were hyenas, they had seen Simba and some other males fight of a clan of them at the border.

"Hyenas!" Kopa exclaimed. "In the Pridelands?"

"Run!" Kion shoved Kiara forward. "Run!" Feeling terrified, Kiara ran with Kopa and Kion behind her. The hyenas were now chasing them. One hyena pounced on them from behind and Kiara felt teeth grabbing her tail. She let out a terrified wail and both her brothers turned back.

"Kiara!" Kopa cried out. He slashed his tiny claws across the hyenas cheek and with a shriek, it let go of Kiara and she jumped out of their grasp. The other hyena growled and before any of the cubs could react, it grabbed Kion by the scruff and began running away with the other one close behind it.

"Kopa! Kiara!" Kion's terrified echoed behind them.

"Kion!" Kopa began running after them and stopped when he realized that he couldn't catch up.

"Kopa…Kopa what're we gonna do?!" Kopa turned to see Kiara crying. She rubbed her eyes with her paws. "I want Mom and Daddy!"

"Come on!" Kopa panted. "We have to go back to Priderock and tell them what happened!" He turned and began running as fast as he could to Priderock with Kiara struggling to keep up behind him. When they reached Priderock the sun was beginning to set. Kopa spotted some of the River Pride and figured that his parents were with his grandparents. Sure enough he spotted Simba chatting with Mufasa and Runju.

"Dad!" Kopa staggered up the rocks. "Dad! We…" Kopa was too exhausted to continue.

"Kopa?" Simba asked noticing Kiara and Kopa. "What happened? Why's Kiara crying?"

Kopa was still reeling for his breath, trying to talk and Kiara latched onto Simba's paw and buried her face against his fur. "Daddy the hyenas took Kion!"

"What?! What hyenas?" Simba let out an angry growl at the thought of hyenas harming his son.

"What hyenas Kiara?" Mufasa asked, looking at his granddaughter fear in his eyes.

"We were playing by the acacia trees." Kopa panted. "And…and we turned around and saw hyenas. We ran but they got Kion!"

"What happened to Kion?" Nala asked coming around the corner with Sarafina. Chumvi, Kula and her mother,Sarina were behind them with Jasiri.

"Hyenas took Kion Mom!" Kiara said. Nala's eyes went wide with fear for her son.

"Zazu!" Simba roared to the hornbill who had flown in to listen. "Fly ahead and find them!" Zazu nodded and flew away as fast as he could. Simba turned to Mufasa.

"Organize an overheard search party!" Simba said. "I'm going after them right now!" He bounded down Priderock.

"I'll go too." Chumvi said and he and Simba were off.

"I'm not staying here." Nala said and Kula nodded in agreement.

"Daddy, inform the Pride and tell them to be ready if we need them." Nala said looking at Runju who nodded. Nala nodded and followed Simba and Chumvi down Priderock with Kula behind her. Runju hurried off to tell the rest of the Pride what had happened.

"It's alright Kiara." Sarafina pulled a still terrified Kiara towards her. "You're safe now."

"But Grandma, they took Kion!" Kopa cried. "What's going to happen to him?"

"Are they hyenas going to hurt him?" Jasiri asked, looking at Sarafina and Sarina with wide eyes.

"Everything's going to be okay." Sarina assured. "Now, I need all three of you to head back into the den." She nudged Kopa and Jasiri while Sarafina picked Kiara up. They headed into the den where the Pride was in a frenzy after Runju had spread the news about Kion. Tojo, Alex and the rest of the males were already ready to go and find him once Zazu returned with the news.

"Kiara?" Sarabi headed towards them when she spotted how distressed her grandaughter was.

"Grandma, hyenas took Kion!" Kiara said tears streaming down her eyes. Sarabi nuzzled her trying to comfort the terrified cub. Shinda walked up to them.

"Everyone's waiting for Zazu to come back." Shinda said. "Akila knows if Simba can't find Kion, he'll order the males to scour the borders while some of the lionesses will need to search throughout the Pridelands."

"I'm going with them." Sarabi said and Sarafina nodded.

"Shinda…" Sarafina looked at her niece and then motioned to Kiara. Shinda nodded, all of them knew that after Simba and Nala, Shinda was the one who could comfort Kiara. She picked Kiara up and settled down in her corner of the den cradling Kiara in her paws. Alex came over and lay down next to them, both of them comforting the little cub.

"Everything's going to be okay sweetheart." Alex licked Kiara's face, wiping away her tears. "We're going to find Kion."

"Why…why…did..did they take Kion?" Kiara asked between sobs and hiccups.

"I don't know." Shinda admitted. "But everything's going to be fine. How about you try and get some sleep now." She coaxed Kiara down and began grooming her to comfort her. Kiara's whimpering faded away and she buried herself into Shinda's fur to try and get some rest. Kopa came over to them and squeezed himself between Shinda and Alex. Shinda licked the top of her godson's head and Alex bent down and talked to Kopa quietly, assuring him that everything would be okay.

Meanwhile, Simba, Nala, Chumvi and Kula had followed the scent of the hyenas only to have it fade away near the western border.

"Why would they come here?" Nala asked, feeling distressed. "The elephant graveyard is past the northern border!" She choked down a sob at the thought of Kion and Kula nuzzled her.

"We can't say that for sure." Simba said as Zazu flew down to them.

"Did you find anything?" Simba asked.

"Nothing sire." Zazu said. "But we must check the hyenas graveyard as well. They should have taken him there."

"Zazu, fly back to Priderock now." Simba said. "Tell the Pride that we need all male to scour every single border. We need some to come with us to the Elephant graveyard and we need some lionesses to search within the Pridelands." He was doing his best not to panick.

"Tell them to meet us at the norther border!" Chumvi said as Zazu flew away and the four of them began running to the northern border.

Back at Priderock, everyone was still waiting for Zazu to come back with news. Zazu flew into the den and everyone looked at him anxiously.

"Zazu what happened?" Akila asked.

"There's no sign of Kion." Zazu said. "Simba needs the males to scour all the borders and some of the lionesses to search within the Pridelands. They also need some of you to join them as they go to the Elephant graveyard."

"We'll come to the elephant graveyard." Tojo said. Sarabi and Mufasa nodded along with Sarafina and Runju.

"We'll come too." Ishan and Penda stepped up with Kula's parents, Sarina and Rojo.

"Alright." Akila nodded. "The rest of the males will be at the borders and the lionesses can search in the pridelands."

"Zazu," Runju turned to the hornbill. "Fly over to the River Pride and tell the males what happened. Tell them to stand guard at the borders in case they can spot the hyenas with Kion." Zazu nodded and flew off.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, the hyenas had gone well past the borders making sure to cover their scent so no one could find them.

"Shenzi…" One of the hyenas spoke. Shenzi set Kion down and kept her foot ontop of him so he woudn't run away.

"What is it Janja?" Shenzi asked looking at her mate.

"Scar wanted all three cubs and we only got one." Janja said. "What are we going to do?"

"It doesn't matter." Shenzi said. "As long as we have one cub, we will have leverage over Simba. That's all Scar wants." Kion looked at them with wide eyes. What were they going to do with him? His heart pounded with fear. He had heard of Scar's name occasionally but he only knew that he was a rogue. His father didn't talk about him in front of him or his siblings and Nala had only told him that they didn't need to worry about him.

"Now come on." Janja said. "Scar's waiting and no doubt, Simba and the Pride are heading towards the elephant graveyard. We need to get back and make sure they're okay." Shenzi nodded and grabbed Kion again, sinking her teeth into him and he cried out in pain. Over an hour had passed when Kion spotted a male with a flowing jet black mane waiting for them. He figured it was Scar. The hyenas reached him and set Kion down in front of him. Scar smiled evilly at Kion and he began shaking in fear. What did they want?

"This is Mufasa's grandcub?" Scar sneered, circling around Kion. "I was expecting something more…appealing."

"I'm Prince Kion of the Pridelands!" Kion snapped, doing his best to conceal his fear. He knew he was the smaller one out of Kopa and him.

"I know who you are Kion." Scar chuckled. "Believe it or not, I know you much better than you think."

"Where are the other two?" Scar demanded looking at the hyenas.

"They got away." Shenzi said. "We grabbed the Princess but she managed to escape. We needed to get out of the Pridelands before they could spot us."

"Very well." Scar said nodding. "I will take him from here. I will send a messenger with our next steps." The hyenas nodded and left. Scar turned around and locked his gaze with Kion who stepped back from him. Kion wanted to cry! He wanted nothing more than his mother and father but he knew that they were far away in the Pridelands. What were they going to do with him?

"Mom, Dad…you have to find me!" Kion wailed to himself silently.

Scar glared at the cub with cold eyes. He had a red tuft of her, much like his father…like his grandfather. He growled at the thought of Mufasa. He had failed to get Akila but had succeeded with Simba's cub. Now…now he could have his revenge.

Growling, he clamped his jaws around Kion, hearing the cub let out a yelp of pain and began carrying him towards where the rest of his Pride was waiting. They had left their main home so just in case Simba went to look for them, they would have their real home hidden.

Scar smiled internally. Everything was working out and now he would have his revenge!

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Nala, Simba and the rest of their group had reached the elephant graveyard. Nala smelled the hair hoping to find a trace of Kion's scent but to her despair there was nothing.

"Are you going to confront them?" Tojo asked going to Simba's side.

Simba nodded. "They took my son and they'll pay the price for it."

"Let's go then." Mufasa said. "Nala, if worst comes to worst, we'll take care of the hyenas. You find Kion and both of you get out of here." Nala nodded, her heart still pounding in fear.

Simba led the way in, jumping down the ledge into the graveyard. Bones littered the ground and the stench of hyenas was overwhelming.

"Let them know we're here Simba." Chumvi said. "We're ready." Simba nodded and let out a loud challenging roar. It only took seconds for them to hear the cackling of hyenas. They appeared out of the shadows and Nala tensed, looking around to see if any of them had Kion.

Nala growled silently, if any of these filthy creatures had her son she would rip them limb by limb.

"King Simba of the Pridelands." One hyena stepped forward. "What brings you so far from Priderock?"

"Where is your matriarch, Shenzi?" Simba growled. "I need to talk to her now!"

"My sister Shenzi and her mate, Janja aren't here." The hyena said. "I'm Banzai and anything you need to tell her, you tell me."

"My son was kidnapped by two hyenas who entered the Pridelands." Simba growled extending his claws. "I'm giving you one chance to speak. Where is he?"

"Your son isn't here." Banzai said. He knew Shenzi and Janja were delivering him to Scar.

"Lies!" Simba roared. "He was taken by hyenas and all hyenas in these areas live here! Where is he?"

"We don't have him!" Banzai sneered.

Nala glared at the hyenas. Despite her anger, something told her that Banzai was telling the truth.

"If you don't have him…" Nala said stepping up beside Simba. "Do you know who does?"

"Yes…" Banzai said. "But I will only agree to tell you if you can promise that you won't attack us."

Simba snarled angrily but nodded.

"Shenzi and Janja took him. But they aren't here." Banzai said.

Simba roared angrily. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know." Banzai said. "Shenzi and Janja only left me with little information. All I know is that they took him under Scar's orders. That's all I know."

"Scar?" Simba demanded. "What does he want with Kion?"

"I've told you everything I know." Banzai said. "If you need to know anymore, the only way you can find out is through Shenzi and Janja."

"Where are they?" Mufasa growled stepping up beside his son and daughter in law.

"Right here!" Came voice. Shenzi and Janja emerged out of the crowd.

"Shenzi, I'm giving you once chance!" Simba growled. "Tell me where my cub is or else I will kill every single hyena here."

"I don't think you're in a position to do that Simba…" Shenzi chuckled. "Yes, we took your son while he was playing with his siblings. We took him to Scar. We made a deal that to help him. We delivered your son right to Scar."

"What does he want with Kion?" Simba growled.

"Simple."Janja said. "To have leverage over you."

"And…" Shenzi chimed in. "If you or your Pride kills a single hyena, I will send a message to Scar and he will personally kill your son and deliver his body right to Priderock!"

Nala let out a roar of fury. "Where is Scar?" He sapphire blue eyes burned into Shenzi's brown ones.

"We can't tell you." Shenzi said. "That's part of the deal we made."

"I swear to the spirits above that if you don't tell me where he is I will kill you right here and now Shenzi!" Simba roared.

"You can kill me all you want Simba." Shenzi chuckled. "But remember, if you touch a single hyena from my clan, your son will be dead. Am I clear?"

Simba growled silently, realizing he was stuck. If he killed a hyena, Kion would be dead. He locked eyes with Nala and Simba knew she was thinking the same.

"Then give Scar a message for me." Simba snarled. "Tell him that if he puts a single claw on my son, there will be a heavy price. Is that understood?" Shenzi nodded, the smirk still on her face.

"Let's go." Simba turned to the rest of his group and they headed back towards Priderock.

 **Sorry again for the long delays but from the way things are going, I think I'm only going to be able to update every few months or so. I miss the days where I was able to update once or twice a week but unfortunately life is way to busy for me now. So anyway, looks like things for Simba and Nala clearly aren't going very well right now with his son being in Scar's clutches. I know this chapter had a lot of Kiara in it but this was the first chapter where she could fully talk so I wanted to add a bit more of her to explore her character more. Please do read and review, it helps me write and improve this story.**

 **And for those of you who read my other story, "It Never Really Ends" I'm about halfway through the next chapter so just keep an eye out for another update!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's chapter twelve and hope you all enjoy! A big shoutout to all my reviewers, thank you so much for your reviews. You really keep me going when it get's hard to write.**

 **TMNTTLK lover- Thank you for continuous support and reviews. I AM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO READ AND REVIEW YOUR STORIES! I quickly skimmed through them and they look really good so I am looking forward to reading them. I'll get onto that very soon!**

 **Courtney Steele- Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **BlackLouie- Thank you for continuous support and reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Jestalnaker9400- Thank you so much for your review. I hope Kion will be okay too and as for Kopa becoming more overprotective, you'll just have to keep reading and see. But keep in mind that they are young cubs and most likely won't take everything seriously. Thanks again for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **balto90-Thank you for continuous support and reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **RogueRaven18- Don't worry there will be a lot of histories and a lot of Nala coming up. leep in mind that this was originally going to be some one shots put together of life after the first story but I decided to combine it with an entirely new story. So there will be lots of short stories coming up and a lot more with out favourite characters. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Clarissa and Autumn: Thank you both for the reviews! I really appreciate your suggestions and I will keep them in mind. There will be lots with Tojo, Shinda and Shani in the upcoming chapters!**

 **Anyways, hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

The rest of the Pride was waiting back at Priderock anxiously for Simba and Nala to return with news about Kion. To their dismay, the King and Queen entered the den with no signs of their son.

"Simba what happened?" Malaika asked rushing forward.

"The hyenas don't have him." Simba announced.

The pride erupted into whispers and murmurs among themselves. Kopa who had been getting drowsy at Shinda's side, rolled onto his feet and tried moving forward but Shinda grabbed him by the tail.

"If the hyenas don't have him who does?" A lioness called out.

Simba took a deep breath before answering. "Scar…or some of you may know him as Moto. He has Kion."

"I knew he never cared for this Pride!" Kudeka let out an angry growl at the thought of him harming Kion.

"Simba, why does he want Kion?" Akila asked.

"To have leverage over Simba." Nala said. "And it's working too. We demanded the hyenas to tell him where he was but they wouldn't tell us. We threatened them but they warned us if we hurt any hyenas, they would make sure that Scar kills Kion." She felt her knees trembling at the thought of it.

"I've gotten Zazu to send out search parties to locate his Pride." Simba said. "Hopefully he can. If not, I want to go get him myself."

"We'll come with you." Amri said. "We can take his Pride by force, we have power in numbers." There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the Pride.

"No!" Nala said and everyone, including Simba looked at her in surprise.

"We aren't all going." Nala said. "This is exactly what Scar wants. He wants the Pridelands and if we all go after Kion, we are giving him what he wants. He will be able to come into the Pridelands and take over. If not him, the hyenas and with a clan like them, if they get control of Priderock, we're done. "

"Nala's right." Simba said after a minute. "We aren't all going."

"Then who is?" Akila asked. "How many do you want to take?"

"As little as possible." Simba said. "I have a feeling Scar has a large Pride but we don't need to fight them. We just need to get Kion and leave."

"We will organize a small party to go and get them." Mufasa announced. "It wouldn't be wise to go fight Scar's entire Pride to get Kion, we don't have the strength of numbers on our side when they're paired up with the hyenas. We will go in a small group and we will sneak Kion out. We can't afford to do anything else." Simba felt a bit irritated at his father for interrupting but didn't say anything.

The Pride broke up into the groups, some of the lionesses getting ready to hunt for those who were leaving while the males talked with Simba about how many would set out to find Kion. The others tended to the cubs.

Nala felt Runju nuzzling her. "How about you get some sleep? It'll be a long journey to find Kion." Nala nodded numbly still worried about Kion.

"Nala." Simba came up to them. "Chumvi and Kula are coming. I didn't want both of them coming…Jasiri will be alone but they insist. Chumvi's the best tracker we have and Kula does know how to navigate the stars better than us. Akila wants to come but I need him to stay back for the Pridelands but Shinda and Alex are coming. Tojo and Shani won't stay behind either."

"That's all you're taking?" Runju asked.

"I'm not going to start a war with him." Simba said as Mufasa and Akila came up. "I have seen what war can do and I will not let that happen under my rule. We only need enough to find Kion and quickly sneak him out of there. Nothing else. Even if I wanted to fight them, I'd need both our Prides and that would be leaving the River Pride and the Pridelands without protection. "

"Well said." Akila nodded along with Nala.

"I will not leave these lands without enough power." Simba said shaking his head. "The hyenas are ready to attack the minute they spot weakness. We are going to get Kion and sneak him out. I'm not going to fight Scar. When the time comes, I will but not today."

"So when are we leaving?" Shinda came up to them.

"Tomorrow at sun high." Simba said. "Zazu needs to come back and he will be coming with us."

"I'll watch the cubs while you two are gone." Sarabi stepped up to Nala and gave her a nuzzle. Once everyone had dispersed, Nala looked at Simba in frustration. "I'm not waiting that long!"

"Nala, I don't like waiting anymore than you do." Simba said. "But we have no idea where Scar's Pride is. If we go, we're going to get lost in the Outlands and we won't be helping Kion. Waiting for Zazu is the best plan we have. " He tried to nuzzle his mate but Nala pulled back looking upset and walked out of the den.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, back at Scar's Pride, Scar had returned and thrown Kion into the corner of the den that the Pride used. He had given the Pride clear orders that Kion was to be watched at all times no matter what the circumstances.

"Dad…" Kovu got up sleepily and trotted towards Scar. He had been sleeping along with Vitani when he had heard talking from the rest of the Pride members. He had gone to where Zira was standing and had been surprised to see a strange cub huddled in the corner of the den.

"What is it Kovu?" Scar asked. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I was asleep but I woke up." Kovu said. "Dad, who's that cub over there?"

"That cub is a…guest of ours." Scar said. "He will be staying here until I say so. That's all you need to know. Now go back to sleep." Kovu nodded and went back to where Zira was settling back down for the night. As Kovu snuggled down beside his mother and sister he stared at the cub who was huddled into a ball at the other side of the den.

"He look's so scared." Kovu thought. "Maybe I should go talk with him tomorrow. That might make him feel better."

As Kovu looked at their new guest, he couldn't help but feel something deep in his stomach. The cub somehow looked oddly familiar but Kovu just couldn't think of why or how. He had never met this cub before…had he?

"Mom…" Kovu turned to Zira. "Can…can Vitani and I play with that new cub?" He wanted to find out more about him.

"Absolutely not." Zira said. "Do not ever let me catch you near him. Understand?" Kovu nodded knowing better than to anger Zira. Only a few nights ago, Nuka had disobeyed Zira which had left him with a bloody nose that the other lionesses had to tend to while Nuka had howled in pain.

On the other side of the den, Kion was huddled up in a ball crying silently. He wanted nothing more than to be with his mother and father back in the Pridelands but he had no idea where he was. Were Simba and Nala coming for him? Surely, Kopa and Kiara would have gone back and told their parents about what happened…unless his siblings had been caught by hyenas too. The thought brought more tears into his eyes.

Kion looked at the two lionesses who were sleeping nearby to make sure he couldn't escape and then at the rest of the strange Pride that belonged to Scar…just the name sent chills down his back as he remembered his parents talking in low voices about him. Why had Scar taken him? Kion wanted to be brave like his mother and father. He knew Simba and Nala wouldn't be afraid right now and neither would they want him to be afraid.

" _Mom…Dad you have to come find me."_ Kion thought, using his paws to cover his ears from the cold. "What are they going to do with me? Eat me?!" The thought made him stomach twist with fear.

"I'm not afraid." Kion whispered. "I'm not afraid. I'm Prince Kion of the Pridelands and I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid." The tired young Prince whispered this to himself, trying not to fall asleep but eventually, his eyes closed and the little cub was sound asleep.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Late next morning, an exhausted Zazu had returned with directions to Scar's Pride. It had taken his entire overhead search party but the birds had managed to do it much to the Pride's gratitude and relief. Now the rescue team was preparing to leave.

"Dad let me come with you." Kopa begged. "I want to help Kion too!"

"I know you want to." Simba said wrapping his paw around Kopa. "But only adults are going. It's too far and dangerous for you. But we will bring back your brother. I promise." He licked the top of Kopa's head just as Nala walked into the den carrying Kiara and she placed her down beside Kopa.

"We'll be back as soon as we can." Nala nuzzled both of them. "Be good and listen to Aunt Malaika and the others while we're gone."

"You're going to bring Kion back, right Daddy?" Kiara asked clinging onto Simba.

er

"Of course." Simba nuzzled her. "We'll be back with him. Kopa, take care of your sister while we're gone."

"I will Dad." Kopa nodded. Simba and Nala nuzzled them one more time before walking out of the den with the others. Both the cubs were silent until Malaika came up to them with Vijay close behind.

"It's alright, they'll be back." Malaika settled down next to the cubs and picked Kiara up and into her paws.

"I wish I could go with them!" Kopa huffed and Vijay nodded in agreement.

"Me too!" Vijay grinned. "We should go after them."

"Not as long as I am here." Malaika said from behind them.

"But Mom, you said that I'm getting better at tracking!" Vijay said. "Kopa and I can help them!" Kopa nodded in agreement and Malaika smiled softly at the cubs.

"I can help them too!" Kiara said.

"No you can't Kiara." Kopa said. "You can't even leave Priderock by yourself!"

"You're the baby of the family!" Vijay laughed along with Kopa.

"Hey!" Kiara glared at her brother and cousin.

"Boys…" Malaika scolded gently. "That's enough. Go find your friends to play with." Kopa and Vijay nodded before trotting off.

Zuri and Anjani, who were now in adolescence walked into the den and headed towards their older sister. Malaika rubbed heads with them.

"Can you two watch Kiara?" Malaika asked. "I need to go find Akila." The twins nodded and settled down next to Kiara as Malaika got up and left.

"What's with the long face Kiara?" Anjani asked, pulling her youngest cousin in closer.

"Kopa and Vijay called me the baby of the family." Kiara said lowering her head.

"Of course you are." Zuri smiled. "You're the youngest cub."

"I miss Mommy and Daddy." Kiara said. "And Kion."

"They'll be back." Anjani said trying to assure the young Princess. Being one of the older cubs, they knew the dangers of the journey but of course they weren't going to scare the younger cubs by telling them.

"I wanna go outside and see what everyone's doing." Kiara said getting up and trotting outside the den. Zuri and Anjani followed her.

Kiara noticed the uneasy atmosphere between the members of the Pride. With the rainy season slowly starting, dark ominous clouds rolled over the Pridelands. The males were huddled at the base of Priderock talking with Akila at the head. Kiara heard noise and turned around to see lionesses dragging several kills up Priderock with Tama at the head and storing them in the small caves.

"Why're we bringing the kills up here?" Kiara asked turning to Zuri and Anjani.

"We need to be careful these days in case there is an attack. It is best to store food while we can instead so everyone's ready when we need it."

"What attack?" Kiara asked. The adults had avoided revealing too many details in front of the cubs save for Zuri who had sneakily listened to everything.

"Because the hyenas and Scar's Pride want the Pridelands." Zuri said.

"What?" Kiara asked. "Why?"

"Zuri!" Anjani glared at her twin. "We're not supposed to tell her."

"Whatever." Zuri shrugged. "Come on Kiara let's go find Jasiri and Danyssa." She pushed Kiara back into the den to look for the other two cubs. They spotted them in the nursery den connecting to the main den that the Pride used.

"Kiara!" Danyssa called her over.

"Why are all the adults outside?" Jasiri asked. "There's only one lioness watching us." Kiara looked at an old lioness, Binti who was keeping an eye out on the cubs despite the fact that she looked like she was about to fall asleep with her eyes drooping every few seconds.

"Because there might be an attack. " Kiara said. "Zuri told me. The hyenas took Kion to a place called Scar's Pride."

"What?" Danyssa asked. "Why?"

"I don't know why." Kiara said. "But I wanna find out."

"Me too!" Jasiri declared. "Let's go! We can find Kion ourselves and save him. " Despite having overly protective parents, Jasiri was known to have something for constantly getting in trouble.

"But what if the adults find out?" Danyssa asked folding her ears as she looked over at Binti who was now soundly asleep.

"They won't." Kiara said. "We can probably sneak out of Priderock and get back before they see. Let's go!" The three cubs trotted out of the den and took the long way down Priderock, hiding in a small cave when they saw Sarabi and some other lionesses coming their way. Once they were gone, Danyssa crept out of the den.

"Everything's clear." Danyssa said. "Let's go."

The cubs ran down Priderock and towards the trees making sure there were no adults nearby before hurrying off to the border.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

A while later, Malaika returned to the den expecting to find Zuri and Anjani with Kiara but to her surprise they weren't there when she looked around.

"Mom." Malaika went to where Kudeka was resting after the hunt. "Have you seen Zuri and Anjani?"

"I just saw them with Ajjali and Zawadi." Kudeka said then noted her daughter's expression. "What's wrong?"

"I told them to watch Kiara while I went to find Sarabi." Malaika said feeling annoyed at her younger sisters.

"Perhaps Kiara is with them." Kudeka assured. "I only saw them from afar so I might have missed Kiara. Or maybe they left her in the nursery den with the other cubs."

Malaika headed into the nursery den and her stomach tightened when she realized that Kiara wasn't in there either. She hurried out of the den and down towards where she could hear her sisters.

"Zuri! Anjani!" Malaika called going over to them.

"Hey Malaika." Zuri greeted.

"What are you two doing here?" Malaika asked. "You were supposed to be watching Kiara!"

"We were but she was bored so we left her in the nursery den." Anjani said.

"She's not there!" Malaika snapped. "This is exactly why I asked you to keep an eye out on her until I came back."

"Kiara's gone?" Ajjali asked a look of worry crossing her face. Simba was her older brother and she knew very well that her brother would have lost it if he were here.

"I don't know where she is." Malaika sighed and hurried back to the den with the other three following her. She tried picking up her niece's scent but with the rain outside and everyone else in the den, the scent was covered.

"Kiara where are you?" Malaika murmured as she went back into the nursery den. Most of the cubs were asleep with a few like Ari and Tanabi still playing. Malaika suddenly noted Danyssa and Jasiri were gone as well and her heart dropped, realizing what must have happened.

Malaika rushed out of the den but slammed right into Akila who grunted at the impact.

"Hey if you wanted to see me so bad you could have just come outside and said hello!" Akila grinned giving his mate a nuzzle.

"Akila this isn't funny!" Malaika snapped. "Kiara's gone!"

"What do you mean she's gone?" Akila asked.

"I left her with Zuri and Anjani just for a bit and they left her in the nursery den. When I came back, Kiara was gone! What's worse is that Danyssa and Jasiri aren't there as well and knowing them, I don't know what they could have gotten into. " Malaika said.

"Dammit!" Akila cursed. "Simba and Chumvi are going to kill me if something happens to their cubs while they're gone."

"What about the cubs?" Akila and Malaika turned around to see Tama and Moraan standing there looking concerned.

"Kiara, Jasiri and Danyssa aren't in the nursery den where we left them." Malaika said. "I tried picking up their scent but it's gone with the rain."

"That means we won't be able to track them either." Tama said worry growing over her face.

"I'm going to send an overhead search party right now." Akila said. "Zazu's not here so it might take a while but if they can't find them we'll go search."

"Is Jasiri in the den?" Penda came up to them along with Sarabi and Malaika shook her head.

"I think she ran off somewhere with Kiara and Danyssa." Malaika said biting her lower lip. "My guess is that they went to help Kion."

"Oh spirits above…" Sarabi closed her eyes. "The hyenas could enter the Pridelands any minute."

"Mom!" Vijay came into the den followed with Kopa. Both of them were soaking wet.

"What are you two doing outside?" Malaika scolded. "You're going to catch a cold!"

"But Aunt Malaika we were only out there for a little bit." Kopa said.

"Yeah we came back to play with Kiara." Vijay said.

"Kiara's not in the den." Moraan sighed. "Neither is Danyssa and Jasiri."

"She left the den?" Kopa exclaimed and ran into the den to check for his sister before running back as he realized that she was no where to be seen.

"Both of you go inside." Malaika said. "The last thing we need is more missing cubs. We're going to look for Kiara…and no you aren't coming." She added the last part seeing both the male cubs opening their mouths to ask the to join the search party.

Malaika headed outside with the rest of her group behind her. Akila had already organized a search party as they waited for news about the cubs. Malaika didn't know how long it was before the searching birds returned.

"Prince Akila!" They flew in soaking wet. "We spotted the cubs heading towards the border! It's the northern border where the hyenas are."

"No…" Akila whispered fearing the worst had happened. "We have to get them!" He bounded down Priderock followed by Malaika, Tama and Danyssa. Penda, Ishan, Sarafina and Sarabi were right behind them, eager to get their grand cubs back to Priderock.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile the female cubs were approaching the border.

"Can we stop running now?" Danyssa panted. "My legs hurt."

"We gotta keep going Danyssa." Kiara said. "We have to save Kion!"

"We should have told Kopa to come." Jasiri said. "Kopa's been out near the borders a lot with the males for the patrol."

"Yeah but he think's he's the best at anything." Kiara said, feeling annoyed as she remembered her older brother and Vijay teasing her.

"Now come on!" Jasiri said. "Let's go save Kion!" She ran ahead and Kiara and Danyssa scampered behind her.

Near the border, Kiara picked up a strange stench. It was faint with the rain but it was there.

"What's that smell?" Danyssa asked covering her nose with her paw.

"Hyenas!" Kiara exclaimed. "That's what they smelled like when they took Kion! He's probably with them!"

"Maybe we shouldn't confront them…" Danyssa said feeling a bit scared.

"Don't be a scaredy cub Danyssa!" Jasiri huffed. "We have to get past them if we want to help Kion!"

"I am not a scaredy cub!" Danyssa said narrowing her eyes. "I'm braver than you!"

"No you aren't!" Jasiri said. "My name means brave!"

"But you aren't brave!"

"Yes I am!" Jasiri growled. "I'm better at pouncing and stalking too!"

"No I'm better!" Danyssa argued. "I catch everything I pounce on!"

"No you don't!" Jasiri said.

"Can both of you stop arguing?" Kiara asked covering her ears with her paws. "My ears hurt!"

"My paws hurt…" Danyssa mumbled feeling grumpy after her argument.

"And I'm really cold!" Jasiri shivered as the rain continued to fall on them.

Suddenly the cubs heard snickering behind them. They turned around to see a large group of hyenas gathering behind them.

"Well well look what we have here…" one hyenas grinned licking her chops.

"Look's like dinner's served Shenzi!" A male hyena tiptoed forward looking at the cubs eagerly.

"You're right Banzai…royal cubs taste the best of them all…don't they Janja" Shenzi whipped around snarling at Kiara who gasped and moved back, bumping into Danyssa and Jasiri.

"Don't try to run!" Janja jumped forward when he saw the females cubs trying to scramble away. "We hyenas have much better stamina and speed than you lions." He spat out the last word.

"Kiara…Danyssa…we have to go!" Jasiri whispered.

"What was that sweetheart?" Shenzi stalked closer to Jasiri. "Where do you have to go?"

Jasiri only trembled with fear and moved back.

"Run!" Danyssa exclaimed and she began to run as fast as she could with Kiara and Jasiri behind her. The hyenas laughed and within a few footsteps they had surrounded the cubs again.

Kiara wanted to cry as she looked at the group of hyenas closing in on them. Why had she left Priderock?

"Enough talking and let's start eating!" Janja snickered moving in for the kill. "Now which one first?"

"Hmmm." Banzai circled around the cubs. By now both Jasiri and Danyssa were crying.

"Let's take Simba and Nala's daughter first!" Shenzi grinned. "It will serve as a little message to King Simba as well."

"Kiara!" Jasiri and Danyssa looked at their friend in fear as Janja slammed Kiara with his paw sending her flying and away from her friends. Kiara landed on the wet grass with a thud and tears in her eyes as Janja moved forward.

"Any last words Princess?" Janja smiled evilly at her as he raised his paw.

"How about hell no?" Came an angry voice. Janja turned around to see Akila jumping over the group of hyenas and in front of Janja.

"Step away from her Janja!" Akila growled.

"Make me!" Janja snarled. "You're outnumbered!"

"I don't think so!" Suddenly Malaika jumped in from behind of Kiara and stood in front of her protectively daring Janja to step closer.

Shenzi looked around as she heard more angry snarls as the rest of the lions closed in on her. Moraan let out a furious roar when he saw Danyssa and Jasiri trapped between the hyenas. Before anyone could react, he slammed into the hyenas in front of the cubs and they stumbled back with a yelp as Tama pulled Danyssa and Jasiri close to her.

"Who's outnumbered now Janja?" Akila taunted. "You're in our lands and you know that the penalty is death!"

"Of course we know what the penalty is Akila." Janja said. "We knew perfectly well when we decided to cross the borders and hunt. We hunted enough to feed our entire clan. We were lucky enough to stumble upon your young ones for a quick meal." Akila roared in anger as he realized that the hyenas had stolen kills from the Pridelands.

"Then you must be seeking death…" Akila said coming in closer for the kill.

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you Akila." Shenzi said stepping up beside her mate. "Keep in mind that Scar still has your nephew…remember if you kill us, he kills Kion." Akila growled angrily, he wanted to kill the hyenas, every single one of them, it was the perfect chance to get rid of the hyenas matriarch and her mate…Simba was one his way to get Kion…surely he would get there first.

" _Wait they're still using Kion against us…that means they don't know that Simba and the others are on their way. If they don't know…that means Scar doesn't know either."_ Akila though, his heart rising slightly as he realized that they had the element of surprise. He could relax a bit now, this entire time he had been worried that the hyenas would realize that they were already searching for Kion but they were still unaware of it.

"Of course I remember Shenzi." Akila snapped. "Now get out of our lands before we force you out. If you want the cubs, you have to get through us."

Growling Janja backed away from Kiara and nodded at his hyenas to follow him out as they began to run away.

"Kiara what were you thinking?" Malaika cried as she pulled Kiara in closer covering her with licks and nuzzles. "I was so worried!" Akila came over to them and scooped Kiara up with his paw rubbing his face against hers.

"Kiara you knew better then to leave Priderock." Akila said still holding onto her protectively. "What happened?"

"We wanted to help Kion." Kiara said folding her ears down. Akila and Malaika turned around to check up on Danyssa and Jasiri who were still shaken from the ordeal.

"Kiara!" Sarabi and Sarafina were immediately at her side, nuzzling her to make sure she was okay.

"Kiara we thought we lost you…" Sarabi said rubbing her cheek against Kiara's. "Don't ever to do that again!"

After being coddled by her grandmothers for another moment, Kiara went up to Akila and Malaika again. The rest of the adults took a moment to greet her and check up on her before Akila and Malaika pulled her back into their grasp.

"I'm sure what happened taught you three a good lesson." Tama said. "Hyenas are dangerous creatures especially for cubs and any threats from them should not be taken lightly." She along with the rest of the adults knew that the young ones had been terrified from the incident and didn't want to give them any serious punishment.

"Now let's get you back to Priderock before you get sick from being out in the rain." Penda said as she picked Jasiri up and began heading back to Priderock with Ishan. Moraan picked Danyssa up and followed them with Tama.

"I'm sure your father won't be happy when he hears about this." Akila said, smiling softly as he imagined his brother's face after hearing about what happened.

"That's enough for now Akila." Malaika said gently. "She's exhausted." Akila nodded, licking the top of Kiara's head one more time before he picked her up. Kiara felt safe with her uncle as they began the long walk home.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, Kion had woken up in the hot dry cave. He looked around to see that a lioness was still on guard, looking at him with cold unwelcoming brown eyes. Kion winced silently and he turned away from her.

"I want to go home…" Kion whispered softly to himself as he tried not to cry but a few tears rolled down his face. His stomach rumbled hungrily, he hadn't eaten since the evening before the day the hyenas had kidnapped him.

He heard voices from the entrance of the cave and he turned around to see a little brown cub trotting into the den and towards him.

"Kovu!" The lioness guarding Kion called out. "Your father gave you clear instructions not to go near our guest."

"Yeah yeah I know Asna." Kovu said with a cheeky grin. "Don't tell him please! I have nothing else to do! Dad's busy and Mom's teaching Vitani how to hunt." Kion looked at Kovu in surprise that he was coming to see him.

Kion felt strangely attached to Kovu…like he was familiar.

"Have I met him before?" Kion whispered unaware that this very cub was the best friend he had lost years ago.

"Alright." Asna sighed. "But only for a few minutes. I'm not willing to deal with your mother's bickering again."

"Thanks Asna! You're the best!" Kovu gave her a nuzzle and a small smile cracked on Asna's face.

Kovu trotted towards Kion. "What's your name?"

"K-Kion." Kion stammered out nervously.

"I'm Kovu." Kovu gave him a friendly smile. "Do you wanna play?"

"I….I…" Kion was scared of him. Not exactly of Kovu but of his family. What if they saw them playing together.

"What? Do you not know how to play or something?" Kovu smirked at him.

"I do know how to play!" Kion snapped. "I'm just really scared."

"Why're you scared?" Kovu asked, oblivious to the danger his so called father had put Kion in.

"Because some hyenas kidnapped me and brought me here away from my home." Kion bit his lip to make sure he didn't start crying again.

"Where's your home?" Kovu asked.

"The Pridelands." Kion answered.

"The Pridelands…" Kovu let the name slowly roll on his tongue. "Sounds cool." The name sounded oddly familiar…perhaps he heard his parents talking about it but he doubted it.

"Do you know what they're going to do with me?" Kion asked.

"No." Kovu admitted. "I don't even know why you're here. But at least you can keep me company!"

"Don't you have anyone else to play with?" Kion asked.

"Not really." Kovu folded his ears down. "My mother is always training my sister and I, especially my sister for hunting. My brother doesn't really like me and my dad's not really the type to play. Everyone else in the Pride is always just trying to hunt to survive."

"Oh…" Kion said, feeling bad for Kovu.

"Who do you play with?" Kovu asked. "Back at your home?"

Kion felt a grin coming onto his face as he remembered how much fun he always had with his siblings, friends and the rest of the Pride.

"I have lots of fun." Kion said. "I always have my twin brother and little sister to play with. And my parent's and my uncles and aunts play with me when they can. And all our friends live at Priderock with us so I can play with them too."

Kovu silently shuddered when he heard Kion mention 'Priderock'. It sounded so familiar but Kovu knew he had never been there before. He closed his eyes trying to remember where he might have heard the word from but no matter how far back he went, the little cub just couldn't remember where he might have heard 'Priderock' from.

"What's Priderock?" Kovu asked.

"Priderock's the best." Kion said. "It's where the entire Pride lives. It's giant rock with lots of caves for us to sleep in. The big den is where most of pride sleeps and my family and I share the royal den. There's a nursery den too just for the cubs. And down the side of Priderock are a lot of acacia trees that you can sit under when it get's really hot. And if you go all the way to the top of Priderock, you can see the entire Pridelands!"

"Wow!" Kovu said astonished. "I wish I could come see Priderock."

Thinking of Priderock made Kion feel sad again. "I hope I can go back home."

"You could stay here." Kovu suggested. "I would have someone to play with!"

Asna came over to them and dropped a tiny piece of meat in front of Kion before going back to guard the entrance of the cave. Kion looked at the size of the meal he had been given before he ripped off a portion and slid it over to Kovu.

"What're you doing?" Kovu asked looking at him strangely.

"Sharing." Kion said. "Have you never shared your meals before?"

"Never." Kovu said. "We don't get a lot to eat so we have to fight for whatever there is."

"Oh…that's terrible." Kion said. His mother always hunted for them and Kion could never remember a day that he had gone to sleep hungry. He knew that not all hunts were successful but both his parents made sure that he and his siblings were well fed before they even began to think of eating, even when meals were harder to catch during the dry seasons.

"Don't you have to fight for food back at home?" Kovu asked curiously as he took a bite of the meal that Kion shared with him.

"No." Kion said. "Mom and the other lionesses always make sure that the cubs eat first."

"Wow…" Kovu murmured. "I wish I had been born in a place like the Pridelands." His heart sank knowing he wasn't as lucky as Kion but Kovu had no idea just how wrong he was.

"Kovu!" Asna's voice sounded a bit urgent. "Your parents are back. It's best if you leave."

"Oh alright Asna." Kovu said and then turned to Kion. "I'll talk to you later." He hurried out of the den.

Meanwhile Zira and Scar were returning after enjoying sometime together.

"Now tell me what you plan on doing with Kion." Zira said.

"Well as much as I would like to demand for Simba to exchange the throne for Kion, I can't. It's a big Pride and surely they will fight back. I want to weaken them as much as possible first…take down Nala, Akila, Mufasa and everyone protecting Simba. If I have to get rid of the River Pride too I will. Surely, Runju will send reinforcements to help his daughter. Once we weaken the Pride, we weaken Simba. And that's when we get rid of him." Scar said, growling with joy as he thought of the last part.

"What about Kion?" Zira asked.

"I took Kion for leverage." Scar said. "If Simba tries challenging me, he'd think twice since I have one his cubs. Surely they are out looking for him but I know he wouldn't take the entire Pride on a mission to the Outlands. It leaves the Pridelands exposed to the hyenas and I know that Mufasa isn't that foolish. Either way he is stuck. If Simba only took a small group, he won't stand a chance against us."

"Mommy!" Vitani bounded up to Scar and Zira. "Look what I caught!" There was a baby hare in her mouth.

Zira couldn't deny that she felt pride as she looked upon her only daughter. Vitani was clever and a fast learner, much faster than both her brothers. _"My little huntress."_ Zira thought feeling proud.

But Zira refused to show it. She would make sure Vitani would toughen up the point where nothing could break her. She wouldn't allow her to soften with emotion. They didn't have the time for it. Besides, she knew that Scar would kill her if she cared too much for Vitani. He had hated her from the minute she was born after realizing she was a female and refused to let Zira spend too much time with her aside from her training and hunting practice. After they had taken Kovu in, Scar made sure neither Vitani or Nuka were taking up too much of Zira's time, he always made Kovu the priority. And Zira didn't dare to defy Scar…she would do anything to hold her spot as his Queen.

"That's a fine kill Vitani." Zira said her voice monotone. "Now go give it to Kovu. Once he has taken his share, you may take whatever is left."

"Oh…" Vitani folded her ears down. "But Mom…I'm hungry too. Kovu already ate this morning and I didn't."

"Did you not hear your mother Vitani?" Scar growled at her. "Give the kill to Kovu and whatever is left you may take. I will not be wasting an entire kill on a useless female like you!"

Whimpering softly, Vitani picked up her hard earned kill and trotted away to find Kovu. She didn't want to be jealous of Kovu but during times like these, she couldn't help it. She was starving but Kovu still got to eat first!

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

It took Simba and his search party over a day to locate Scar's Pride. Zazu was exhausted and Simba knew that they couldn't keep pushing him on. It had taken time to pass through neighbouring Prides, they had to wait at borders to cross through. Thankfully Simba had kept good connections with rulers from other Pride's and once they had found out that Nala was from the River Pride they had been allowed to pass through immediately. Kingdoms from all over the African lands had heard the stories of Simba and Nala uniting two feuding Pride's and they were more than happy to meet them.

"Simba, I see them ahead." Nala said stopping when she spotted some caves ahead of them. They had left the Mountain Pride, whose land bordered some territory with dry grass, little water and little to none animals passing by. Nala thought it was only a small area but after an hour or two of travelling through it she realized the territory was gigantic. The Mountain Pride had been generous and offered them kills to fuel them for the rest of their journey.

"So what's your plan?" Shinda said as they gathered in close.

"We are not going to fight all of them." Simba said. "We don't have the numbers to do so. All we can do right now is find a way to go around them and quickly sneak Kion out of there."

"Do you want to distract them?" Chumvi asked. "While Nala goes to get Kion. If there's visitors, I think the entire Pride will come out to see what's going on."

"I hope so." Simba said. "I don't know how big their Pride is and we don't know where they're keeping Kion either. That's why we have Zazu." He turned to the hornbill who was perched on his neck.

"What do you need me to do?" Zazu asked nervously.

"I need you to fly ahead and keep high above the ground so they won't notice you. Go into the caves when no one is looking at see which one has Kion. We can't risk us going in there and them seeing us." Simba said.

"Will do." Zazu said as he got up and flew away.

"So I go for Kion." Nala said. "Kula, will you come with me for backup?"

"Of course." Kula nodded.

"The rest of us distracts the Pride." Tojo said. "But Simba you've met Scar before. He's going to recognize you."

"I suppose so." Simba sighed. "Then I'll go with Nala to sneak Kion out. The rest of you distract Scar and the rest of the Pride."

"Sounds like a plan." Shani nodded.

"I spoke with my father before we left…no one knows Scar better than him." Simba said. "He said that Scar's going to be expecting a fight and thinks that we're outnumbered. He always turns to violence and that's where we have our advantage." His tone was still worried and everyone looked at him in concern.

"Simba…" Alex put his paw on Simba's shoulder. "We're going to get Kion out and we're ALL going to make it out alive." The rest of them nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to go find some water." Chumvi said. "It'll be a while before Zazu returns." The group left in pairs to search for water and Simba turned to his mate.

"How're you holding up?" Simba rubbed his face against hers.

"Simba…" Nala's voice was quiet. "What if we're too late?"

"No." Simba pulled her in closer and held her in his embrace. "I refuse to believe that."

"He's all alone without us to protect him." Nala whispered, her eyes tearing up as she thought of her missing cub. "Can you imagine how scared he is right now? Who knows what Scar and his pride are doing to him." She pressed her face against his cheek, wiping away her tears.

"They won't do anything to him." Simba said. "They need Kion for leverage against me, they would be fools to try to hurt him." Despite his words, he was sick with worry but didn't want to worry his mate even more. He licked the back of Nala's ears as she pulled back, knowing how worried Nala was. He knew that their cubs were everything to Nala and she would lose her mind if anything happened to either of them.

"Simba!" Zazu came tearing in.

"What is it Zazu?" Simba asked.

"I found Kion!"

 **So that's it for chapter twelve and I hope you guys liked it. I would really appreciate a review, even just a tiny one so I know everyone is enjoying the story. Your feedback helps me improve the story and it keeps me motivated to update chapters faster. Anyways, so Simba and his team are ready to rescue Kion from Scar who thinks that they're coming for a fight but reality is that they aren't. I added some Vitani into this chapter, she doesn't play a big role right now but she will at the end of the story. Also, Chumvi and Kula are on the rescue team heading to the very place that their son (who they think dead) is. What's going to happen if they spot him? Keep reading to find out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's chapter 13 and I hope everyone enjoys. Thank you to Austin, BlackLouie, Poopdoodle and Guest for reviewing the last chapter. A few more reviews would be appreciated :)**

Back in the Pridelands, Mufasa was standing at the top ledge of Priderock, his eyes gazing out onto the Kingdom but all he could think of was Simba, Kion and the rest of the rescue party. All he wanted was for all of them to be home with Kion safe and sound.

Part of Mufasa blamed himself for not telling Simba about Scar earlier. Maybe if he had, Simba could have done something about the problem and maybe today, Kion would still be with them. He knew that both his sons partially blamed him and Mufasa felt guilt overwhelming him.

As a proud and strong lion and King, Mufasa had only felt failure twice in his life. First during the war between the Eastern Pride and the River Pride. Only after Simba had finally been able to knock some sense into him and prove to Runju how unnecessary the rivalry between the two Prides were, had Mufasa realized that he had failed as a King. He had led his Pride down a path of darkness and in the end, lives had been lost. He closed his eyes remembering the Pride mates they had lost in the war.

The second time was when Kion had been kidnapped. The minute Mufasa had heard that Scar was responsible for his kidnapping, he had blamed himself for not realizing that Scar was up to something. After all he always was and Mufasa had told himself that he should have known better and protected his family better.

He felt like a fail.

"Dad?" Mufasa turned to see Akila coming up to him and they bumped heads in greeting.

"Still no sign of them…" Mufasa sighed.

"I know…" Akila tried to hide the uncertainty in his voice. "But you know it's going to take a couple days maybe even more."

"How's the kingdom doing?" Mufasa asked.

"The animals are scared…" Akila said. "They heard about Kion being kidnapped and word got out that the hyenas and Scar are responsible. They know that the hyenas were hunting in the Pridelands too. They're scared that the hyenas will come in and over hunt but I promised them that I would make sure they didn't. They went past the borders a few times and scared the herds. I put males all around the borders to make sure that hyenas wouldn't enter. They keep trying to get past the borders a few times but we chased them off."

"Do we have enough to cover all four borders effectively?" Mufasa asked.

"Runju sent backup, he's out there right now too." Akila said. "With their help, we can take turns so we won't tire out."

"You've done well son." Mufasa said.

Akila was silent but he was nearly blown away by Mufasa's praise. Both Simba and him knew it was hard to impress their father.

"Dad, Simba and I both know that you blame yourself for this." Akila said. "And we don't want you to. Its Scar's fault, not yours."

"I should have told Simba who Scar was a long time ago." Mufasa said. "He asked me but I didn't tell him until he and Runju confronted me."

"Even if you did tell Simba who Scar was earlier, he still would have kidnapped Kion." Akila said. "We wouldn't have known what he was planning even if we had properly known who he was."

"I suppose so." Mufasa said. "But it doesn't matter now. I won't let Scar have any of my grand cubs."

"Neither will I." Akila murmured.

"I just wanted to let you know Akila." Mufasa said turning towards him. "That I'm very proud of you."

"For what?" Akila asked looking confused.

"For supporting your brother no matter what. I know it's hard sometimes especially when everyone thinks that it is Simba who does everything." Mufasa said giving his youngest son a smile. "But you've stuck by him no matter what, even when both of us were against you. Not all lions can do this Akila, Scar certainly didn't but I'm proud that you have."

 _"Guess you're not Dad's favourite after all Simba."_ Akila thought with a smirk.

"After what happened with Scar," Mufasa continued. "I was so scared that it would happen to you and Simba too. I did my best to make sure that you two would learn to work with each other rather than against. And now I know that I've done my job right."

"Wow…" Akila said. "I never thought you'd ever say that." Mufasa just chuckled and rubbed his paw on top of Akila's head gently messing up his mane.

"Dad!" Akila scoffed, pushing Mufasa's paw away. "You're messing up my mane!"

"Come on now." Mufasa chuckled. "Let's get to the borders and see how everyone's doing." With that, father and son descended down Priderock and towards the borders.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile, back in the Outlands Simba and his search party had gathered up again.

"Okay does everyone know the plan?" Nala asked. "Simba and I will go alone and go around them and approach the Pride from behind and go around to the dens that Kion is in . The rest of you keep going and make sure you have the Pride's attention for as long as you can so Zazu has time to lead Simba and I to the cave that Kion is in."

"And what if there are lions guarding the cave?" Chumvi asked. "They'd be stupid not to have at least one lioness guarding the cave that Kion is in."

"There was one lioness when I went." Zazu nodded from where he was perched on Tojo's shoulder. "You two will have to take care of her without making too much noise."

"I'll deal with her. I'll try to keep her down without making too much noise but if worse comes to worse, I'll have to get rid of her. " Simba said with a sigh. He didn't want to kill a lioness, it wasn't his thing to do. But his son was more important. Nothing was more important to Simba than his cubs.

"If by some chance that Scar realizes what's happening, just run." Shinda said. "Doesn't matter where but just run so they don't attack you. We don't have the numbers to defend ourselves. We can find our way back into the Pridelands."

"Nala," Shani reminded. "There's no guarantee that all of Scar's Pride will come to confront us. There could be Pride members at the back of the den too. Just in case, let Tojo and I come with you. We'll hold them off best as we can so you two have a chance to get Kion."

"When we get Kion, we'll give you a signal to start heading back to the Mountain Pride." Tojo said. "We can regroup there."

"Alright." Simba nodded. "Then let's go. Good luck to all of us and I pray that the spirits above will protect us." He and Nala turned and started going the long way around to get to Scar's Pride with Tojo and Shani following them. The rest of the group watched them go far into the distance before they started to head towards Scar's Pride.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

Zira headed outside of the dens after making sure that Kovu had eaten to find Scar. She found were mate looking uneasy.

"What is it?" Zira asked.

"I expected to see Simba coming by now." Scar said. "Or at least a messenger from the Pridelands demanding us to give Kion back. But there's been nothing."

"And that's bad?"

"Its strange that they haven't done anything." Scar said. "I would expect that they would have come by now. If I see Simba coming, I'd recognize him for sure but he hasn't come yet."

"You-" Zira began but Scar cut her off.

"Doesn't matter." Scar said. "Either way, I've already won. Simba can either come with an army which would leave the Pridelands exposed. If he comes with a small group he'll never be able to fight us all."

Zira nodded and gave him a comforting nuzzle before they headed back into the dens.

Meanwhile, Kion was in the den feeling more worried with every minute that passed. He was sure that his parents would have come to his rescue now but they hadn't. What if they didn't know where he was? Then there would be no way that they could save him…the thought brought tears to his eyes.

 _"What if I'm stuck here forever?"_ Kion thought with a sniffle.

Suddenly, Kion heard rushed voices outside the dens.

"Scar!" Came a voice. "Rogues!"

"Oh no…" Kion whispered. His parents had told him about rogues and how they took over Prides and sometimes even kill the cubs. He knew that not all rogues were bad and but he still remembered hearing about how his father had fought them off at the Pridelands border.

"Nuka! Vitani!" Came Zira's voice. "Get Kovu and take him inside the den. Do not let him leave until I say so!" A minute later Kovu trotted into the den with Vitani and Nuka behind him.

"Asna!" Zira snapped storming into the den.

"Yes my Queen?" Asna stammered getting onto her paws.

"Guard the cubs until this is over." Zira said. "If anything happens to Kovu while he is under your watch, I will kill you. Understand?"

"Of course Zira." Asna nodded and Zira left.

"Asna?" Nuka asked. "Who are the rogues?"

"I don't know." Asna said. "We don't know who the rogues are until we confront them."

"Do they want to join this Pride?" Vitani asked.

"Maybe." Asna replied. "If your father thinks that they are harmless, he will let them join. There's greater strengths in numbers. I doubt he will let the males join but I wouldn't be surprised if you lets lionesses join. We'll have the extra help for hunting."

"Don't rogues kill cubs Asna?" Kovu asked, sounding nervous.

"Don't worry." Asna nuzzled Kovu to comfort him. "We won't let anything happen to you three."

Kion only lowered his head, realizing that if rogues took over, there would be no one to protect him. He whimpered softly, now wanting his parents more than anything.

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Meanwhile, Simba and the rest of his group had managed to sneak up from behind and they quietly tiptoed to where Zazu was leading them. Nala peered over a jagged rock to see that Chumvi and the others were keeping the Pride busy by talking.

"Here we are." Zazu whispered pointing at the largest cave there was. "There's a lioness guarding Kion in there."

"I'll take care of her." Simba said. "Nala, get Kion." Without a warning. Simba turned and pounced into the cave and Nala heard a surprised cry. They rushed into the cave to see that Simba was struggling to keep the lioness down, with one of his paws on covering her mouth so she wouldn't be able to make any noise. That was when Nala noticed the three cubs looking at the sight in awe.

"Get the cubs!" Nala whispered to Tojo and Shani who immediately grabbed the cubs and kept their mouth covered so they wouldn't call out.

"Mom! Dad!" Nala's heart skipped a beat when she heard Kion's voice calling out for her. She whirled around to see her son running towards her. Tears filled her eyes when she saw that Kion was safe and unharmed.

"Kion!" Nala held him tightly for a few seconds before she heard an angry roar. Picking Kion up, she turned around to see that Simba had a bloody paw while the lioness had managed to get out of his grasp. Tojo, who was holding the biggest cub pounced on him but he missed and the lioness ran out of the den.

"Scar!" The lioness cried. "Simba's taking Kion! It's all a trick!"

"Run!" Simba said. "Now!" Nala sprinted out of the cave with the other three behind her. She heard a roar of anger from Scar's Pride as they gave the chase.

And that's when chaos broke out.

Chumvi watched as Scar's Pride chased after Simba and the others and he turned to his group.

"Run!" Chumvi ordered. "Now!"

"Not so fast!" Scar growled from behind them and he pounced on Chumvi from behind and took him down.

"Chumvi!" Kula cried as she ran back to help her mate along with Alex and Shinda.

" _Chumvi…_ " Scar thought. If this lion was Chumvi then he was Kovu's biological father.

"Dad!" Came a voice. It was Kovu running towards him followed by Nuka and Vitani.

"Kovu get out of here!" Scar roared, terrified that Chumvi would recognize Kovu. By now, Kula had reached her mate. Chumvi was struggling underneath Scar's weight and Kula hit Scar hard on the side of his face and he roared in pain.

"Hey!" Scar heard Kovu cry from behind Nuka. "Leave my dad alone! Leave him alone!"

"Oh the irony…" Scar muttered to himself as Chumvi pushed him off and Kula pinned him down with Alex's help.

"Let me get rid of him and his cubs!" Chumvi growled angrily. He wasn't a cub killer but his anger at Scar made him want to be. He looked at the three cubs. He couldn't see the youngest two as they were hiding behind the bigger one but he could tell that one was a light golden colour while the other one was a dark brown colour. The shade of brown seemed oddly familiar and he was trying to remember where he saw it when Shinda's voice interrupted him.

"Chumvi lets go! If we kill either of them, they will follow us. We have Kion, let's get out of here!" Shinda said, pulling Chumvi away from the cubs and Scar. Chumvi nodded, giving Scar one more hit on the leg and he roared in pain. Satisfied that he wouldn't be able to follow them, they began running back to the mountain pride. Scar watched them go, growling in anger but unable to get up from the pain in his leg. He could only hope that the rest of his Pride had caught Simba and the others but he doubted it.

"I'm gonna get him!" Kovu glared at them angrily and before anyone could stop him he got up and ran behind the fleeing group.

"Kovu!" Scar roared after him, terrified Chumvi would turn around and recognize him. He wouldn't lose his heir to the throne…he had no other successors.

"Nuka do something!" Vitani cried looking at her oldest brother but Nuka was frozen in fear and Vitani looked at her father but realized with his injured leg, he wouldn't be able to get up.

"Kovu!" Vitani ran after her brother. Being faster she managed to catch up with him and pounce on him to stop him from running after the rogues.

Chumvi sprinted behind his group but stopped when he heard muffled shouting. He turned to see the golden cub pouncing on the darker younger one. Chumvi stopped and stared at the sight…a feeling of nostalgia washed over him. He couldn't get a clear view of the cubs but it was almost as if he was looking at someone he knew or had at least known.

"Chumvi come on! We have to find Nala's group!" Alex pulled him along. Shaking the thought out of his head, Chumvi followed them. Right now the only important thing was finding Kion.

Meanwhile Nala who was still carrying Kion and Shani were still sprinting to the mountain pride. Nala could only hope that Simba and Tojo were still following them. Simba's injured paw had slowed him down greatly and Tojo had pushed Nala and Shani ahead, promising them that he would get Simba and catch up with them.

 _"Keep your promise Tojo."_ Nala thought, not only terrified for her mate but for her cousin who she loved like her own brother.

"Mom…" Kion's terrified voice slowed her down. Exhausted from the run, Nala stopped and set Kion down. Shani stopped too and collapsed on the ground, grateful to be able to take a break.

"Mom…mom…I…" Kion's voice was choked with tears. He had been so happy to see his parents and family but after seeing his father get injured and left behind with his uncle, Kion didn't know what to do.

"Shhh its okay." Nala soothed, pulling him into her paws. "I'm right here. You're safe with me." She cradled Kion in her paws, rocking him back and forth.

"But what about Dad?" Kion asked wiping his tears away. "And Uncle Tojo? And the others?"

"They're going to be okay." Nala assured. "I promise." She handed Kion to Shani who coddled him for a bit, giving Nala a chance to lick and clean her sore paws from running.

"Nala! Shani!" Nala's heart jumped as she turned around to see Kula's group heading towards them.

"Oh thank the spirits above you're all safe!" Shani beamed at them. They greeted each other affectionately and once making sure Kion was okay, Shinda turned to Nala with worry in her eyes.

"Where are Simba and Tojo?" Shinda asked.

"Simba's paw got injured and he couldn't keep up. Tojo sent us ahead and promised us that he would get Simba and catch up." Nala said, the worry in Shinda's eyes being reflected in her own.

"They're out there alone?" Chumvi exclaimed. "I'm going to get them now!"

"No Chumvi." Shani turned to him. "You don't know where they are and Scar's Pride will be on the watch and they will spot you. The Mountain Pride isn't too far away now, our best chance is to go there and get reinforcements to help. That's what Simba would have wanted."

"Fine." Chumvi said. "Let's go now and we can make it in time to help them." Nala nodded and got up along with Shani who picked Kion up and placed him on Alex's back, letting him sink into Alex's soft amber red mane.

"Go to sleep." Nala whispered, nuzzling the exhausted cub. "Everything's going to be fine when you wake up." Kion didn't like naps but he was so tired and couldn't keep his eyes open. Nala watched as his eyes shut and he buried his face into Alex's mane.

TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK

When Kion opened his eyes, he was in another unfamiliar cave. He gasped wondering if he was back at Scar's pride but then felt someone settled down beside him. He rolled around expecting it to be his mother but he was shocked to come face to face with Simba who had been patiently waiting for Kion to wake up.

"Dad!" Kion cried, jumping up and burying himself into Simba's mane and Simba held onto him tightly.

"Kion, I thought I lost you." Simba said, keeping Kion in his grasp.

"Where…how did we end up here? Where's Uncle Tojo? Is he alright?" Kion stammered out, still exhausted and in shock.

Simba licked the top of his head. "Uncle Tojo is fine. Everyone's okay. We're in the Mountain Pride, Uncle Tojo and I actually got here before your mother and the others did and we regrouped here."

"Kion." Nala walked into the den and towards them. She covered Kion with licks and nuzzles and Kion stayed in Nala's protective embrace.

"Are you hurt?" Nala looked at him in concern and Kion shook his head but the word 'hurt' reminded him of something.

"Dad, is your paw okay?" Kion asked, looking at Simba's injured paw. He winced at the sight of it.

"I'll be alright." Simba chuckled, rubbing his Kion's head with his paw. "You know I'm tougher than that!" Nala laughed as she settled down on the other side of Kion.

The sight of his parents warmed Kion's heart. They had come out here, all the way for him and risked everything. He felt himself tearing up, from the fear and exhaustion of the thought of never being able to reunite with them.

"Kion what's wrong?" Nala asked looking concerned. "Did something happen while you were with Scar's Pride?"

"They didn't hurt they did they?" Simba asked. If they had put a claw on his son, he would go rip them each into pieces whether he had an injured paw or not.

"I didn't know if you were going to come and save me." Kion sniffed. "I thought I would be there forever." Nala licked away his tears and stroked his face lovingly.

"Kion, we'd come for you even if you were halfway across the world. We would never leave you like that." Nala said, smiling at her cub.

"The entire Pride wanted to come and get you." Simba licked the top of his head. "That's whats makes us a Pride."

"Have you eaten anything?" Nala asked. "You're probably starving."

"I did eat…" Kion said. "And Kovu he told me-"

"Who's Kovu?" Simba asked.

"Scar's son." Kion said. "He wanted to play with me but he wasn't allowed. They have a weird Pride Dad."

"And why's that?" Simba asked.

"So first he told me that he doesn't have anyone to play with because his brother doesn't like him and he always has training and lessons so he can't do anything. And then he said that his Pride has to fight over meals or else they don't get anything to eat." Kion said.

"Poor cub…" Nala murmured. "You are lucky to be born into a Pride like ours."

"Yeah." Kion nodded in agreement.

"Come with me." Nala said. "Uncle Tojo wants to see you and you need to eat." Kion nodded and after giving Simba a nuzzle he followed his mother out of the cave.

"Is this the Mountain Pride Mom?" Kion asked as Nala led him to where the others were.

"Yes it is." Nala said. "They were very helpful to us and I expect you to thank them when we leave."

"Alright." Kion nodded. "When're we leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Nala said. "We want to give your father sometime to rest his paw. We'll be home after that. Kiara and Kopa are waiting to see you."

The thought of home warmed Kion's heart. He was excited to see his siblings, grandparents and the rest of his Pride. Nala was right, he was lucky to be born into the Pridelands. The Pridelands were his home.

And home was where he wanted to be.

 **Sorry if it's a bit of a short chapter, I can never figure out when to end each one. Anyways, so I know that I haven't updated in forever (as usual) but hey life and writers block gets in the ways. So in this chapter we saw that Kovu (Enye) was just about to see his birth parents if Scar hadn't gotten in the way. Mufasa opens up to Akila while Akila is blown away by praise. Simba and Nala's rescue party was a success and everyone's heading home happy…for now at least. Stay tuned for more…I have lots of ideas for this story and I'm positive that it'll be worth the wait :)**

 **A little hint about the next chapter: It will start with Rafiki making some very interesting declarations. Look out for the next chapter to find out just what they are.**

 **Please do take time to review, even if its just a quick short one. Your comments and feedback help me write better and develop the story further. I'd love to hear your opinions on Kovu almost being reunited with his birth family.**


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